Manhattanhenge
Sign in to saveAlso known as Manhattan solstice
Manhattanhenge, also called the Manhattan Solstice, is an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claims to have coined the term, by analogy with Stonehenge. The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice. The sunset alignments occur around May 28 and July 13. The sunrise alignments occur around December 5 and January 8.
Key facts
- Recurring event.name
- Manhattanhenge
- Recurring event.image
- Manhattanhenge 2016-07-12-FRD.png
- Recurring event.caption
- Tourists observing the July 2016 Manhattanhenge on 42nd Street
- Recurring event.location
- Manhattan, New York City
- Recurring event.country
- United States
- Recurring event.genre
- Astronomical alignment
- Recurring event.frequency
- Twice annually
- Recurring event.dates
- Around May 28 and July 13
via Wikipedia infobox
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Explanation and details
- Occurrences
- Related phenomena in other cities
- See also
- References
- External links
- Media
- Discussion
- Images and maps
Manhattanhenge, also called the Manhattan Solstice, is an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claims to have coined the term, by analogy with Stonehenge. The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice. The sunset alignments occur around May 28 and July 13. The sunrise alignments occur around December 5 and January 8.
Manhattan has a phenomenon of this kind due to its extensive urban canyons and its rectilinear street grid that is rotated 29° clockwise from true east–west. Many streets align with the view of the Manhattanhenge including 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Manhattanhenge” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.