Manhattanhenge occurs twice each year when the setting sun aligns with Manhattan’s east-west street grid, framed by skyscrapers. The phenomenon happens about three weeks before and after the summer solstice rather than on June 21 itself. On Thursday, the sun appeared perfectly aligned as it sank below the horizon, and another alignment was possible on Friday. The event repeats on July 11 and 12. Over the years, it has become a popular sighting that draws photographers and others to sidewalks during spring and summer evenings. The name was coined in 1997 by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson after comparing the effect to Stonehenge, though Manhattan’s planners did not intend to channel the sun.
"The setting sun was framed by a canyon of skyscrapers Thursday as it sunk below the horizon, perfectly aligned with the Manhattan street grid. The dramatic spectacle was just the first of the year. Another version of the setting sun was possible between New York's famed skyscrapers on Friday. The phenomenon then repeats on July 11 and 12."
"Manhattanhenge happens about three weeks before and after the summer solstice. Over the years, it has become a must-see event, bringing photographers and others out onto the city sidewalks on spring and summer evenings. Some background on the uniquely New York experience:"
"Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson coined the term in a 1997 article in the magazine "Natural History." Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York's American Museum of Natural History, said he was inspired by a visit to Stonehenge as a teenager. The future host of TV shows such as PBS' "Nova ScienceNow" was part of an expedition led by Gerald Hawkins, the scientist who first theorized that Stonehenge's mysterious megaliths were an ancient astronomical observatory."
"Unlike the Neolithic Stonehenge builders, the planners who laid out Manhattan did not mean to channel the sun. It just worked out that way. When is Manhattanhenge? Manhattanhenge does not take place on the summer solstice itself, which is June 21 this year. Instead, it happens about three weeks before and after the solstice. That's when the sun aligns itself perfectly with the Manhattan grid's east-west streets."
Read at San Diego Union-Tribune
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