On Tuesday evening, New Yorkers came together to witness one of Manhattanhenge’s two annual spectacles.
The city’s renowned grid system beautifully framed the setting sun, bathing the concrete jungle in a warm glow.
Thousands of onlookers, both tourists and locals, eagerly gathered to capture the perfect image during this remarkable event.
The first night of Manhattanhenge occurred on Monday, but only half of the setting sun was visible.
However, on Tuesday, the full sun was proudly showcased between the skyscrapers at sunset.
If you missed it, don’t worry! The next opportunity to experience this captivating show will be in July.
What is Manhattanhenge?
This is when the sunset aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s skyscrapers, which were built on the city’s street grid layout.
Similar “henge” phenomena also occur in other cities with large amounts of skyscrapers and long straight streets – such as Chicago, Montreal and Toronto.
As far as sunset goes, the event happens in May and July, and for two nights each. There’s also a sunrise version that occurs in the winter.
It happens about three weeks before and three weeks after the summer solstice.
Who coined the term?
In 1997, Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist, coined the term Manhattanhenge. He got the idea from Stonehenge, where the sun aligns with vertical stones on the solstices.
When deGrasse Tyson was young, he visited Stonehenge in England and studied other stone monuments in the British Isles. It left a deep impression on him.
He believes that the emotional impact of alignments with the sun on a culture or civilization is significant.
How do you see it next time?
It will happen next on 12 July at 20:20 and on 13 July at 20:21 local time. Viewers above 14th Street and below 155th Street can catch the spectacle.
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation recommends these streets for a great view: 57th Street, 42nd Street, 34th Street, 23rd Street and 14th Street.
