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In New York City , when the set sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan ’s grid - patterned streets , it create a picturesque effect where the north and south sides of the city ’s cross streets are bask in the sun ’s light .
The phenomenon , dubbed " Manhattanhenge , " occurs twice a year with the full Lord’s Day , and twice a year with the half sun , depending on weather conditions . The dates variegate each yr , but they typically fall in May and July . It happen four times on two paired dates at the end of May and mid - July ; twice with the half - gear up sunlight draw up in the exact center of the " canyon " between buildings , and twice with the full roundabout of the sunshine touch down in alignment with the urban center gridiron .
Crowds of people in Times Square with the sun setting between the buildings — a phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge
During the full Manhattanhenge — as the set sunlight occupation up with the urban center streets — the entire orb seem on the celestial horizon . With the half sunset , as the name imply , one-half of the sunshine appears above the horizon , and the other half below .
" The reason we have Manhattanhenge is related to the fashion the Earth orbits the Sun and the island of Manhattan is shaped,“Jackie Faherty , senior scientist & fourth-year teaching handler at the American Museum of Natural History , told Live Science in an email . " Neither of those thing exchange much over the years so you will have the outcome occurring at almost the same prison term sequentially . The name was coined by the director of the Hayden PlanetariumNeil deGrasse Tysonwho was feed an homage toStonehenge . "
How to see Manhattanhenge
The most salient Manhattanhenge displays occur at sunset , but spectators are propose to point alfresco about 30 minute before to watch as the sun descends in the sky . Manhattanhenge ’s stunning visual impact is due in part to the expanse of the Hudson River and the comparatively low buildings on the New Jersey shoreline , which make for an unobstructed view of the sun as it drops to the horizon in the Benjamin West for " the grid snog , " Faherty say .
" For best effect , place yourself as far east in Manhattan as potential , " Tyson write in a blog post on theHayden Planetarium ’s internet site . " But ensure that when you see west across the avenues you may still see New Jersey . "
Tyson suggest picking one of the wide-eyed cross streets to consider Manhattanhenge , admit fourteenth , 23rd , 34th , 42nd and 57th . Many of the streets immediately adjacent to these ones also offer dainty places to watch the spectacle . " The Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building give 34th Street and 42nd Street especially striking vistas , " Tyson said .
The sun sets along 42nd Street in a Manhattanhenge-like sunset on 9 March 2025.
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Faherty said that the best way to see Manhattanhenge is to pluck a street with a across-the-board view with nothing obstructing it towards the Hudson . " There is quite a piece of topography in NYC where there will be piffling Alfred Hawthorne along a given cross street that will make it unmanageable to see flat toward NJ ( New Jersey ) , " she said . " So I always recite masses to scope out their preferred location a few twenty-four hour period ahead of time and check that there are no trees , no hills , and no tall buildings in NJ that would block the sun as it hits the celestial horizon .
" Getting yourself steady down about 20 minutes before sundown is idealistic . Sometimes I leave myself even more sentence since I really love look on how the light on the horizon alter as the Lord’s Day starts to set . "
The nickname Manhattanhenge is derived fromStonehenge , a prehistoric monument that can be found north of the modern - day metropolis of Salisbury , England . Once a year , the sunrise is dead aligned with the Harlan Fiske Stone columns that make up this horseshoe - shaped megalith , which archaeologists conceive was built around 2,500 B.C.
New York City is not the only office to experience these type of solstices . Other cities with consecutive east - west grid - patterned street revel these dazzling sunsets as well , include Chicago and Baltimore in the United States , and Toronto in Canada .
Will Manhattanhenge always light up NYC streets?
Manhattanhenge ’s alignment only happens on certain date because the precise position of the rising and setting sun on the horizon is slenderly different every day — the result of Earth beingtilted on its axisby 23.5 degrees in its orbital plane , Faherty articulate . But in increase to Manhattanhenge , the near set Sunday is seeable between the metropolis ’s cross streets during a range of dates bracketing the summer solstice , with the so - called " Manhattanhenge Effect " live from the first sunset storage-battery grid buss in May until the last one in July .
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Between May 29 and the summertime solstice , the sun is still visible at the midpoint of the metropolis ’s cross streets , hitting the " sweet topographic point " just a little higher each daylight . After the summertime solstice ( which unremarkably learn place between June 20 and 22 ) " when the Northern Hemisphere start out to cant aside from the Dominicus , " the same thing happens in reverse , with the sun hitting the center of the control grid a little lower each day " until the 2d grid osculation in July , when it ’s the last clock time the sun makes it that far northward , " Faherty said .
However , if Earth were to suddenly tap over even farther on its axis of rotation — perhaps fall out a massive cosmic collision — that would jolt the alignment enough to cease Manhattanhenge forever . " It would have to knock us moderately far , though , for it to not happen in Manhattan at all , " Faherty say .
Such adevastating impactwould cause a host of more immediate concerns than the personnel casualty of Manhattanhenge . But luckily , the chances of such an land - changing event actually taking place are pretty slender , she said .
" Earth is middling unchanging in its orbit , so as far as current mankind goes , we ’re not losing that anytime soon . No one who ’s reading this is going to mislay the power grid kiss unless something catastrophic chance to the Earth , and I do n’t see anything like that on the horizon . "
