It\u2019s that time again, New Yorkers. Manhattanhenge is upon us.<\/p>\n
Each year at the end of May, and again in the middle of July, residents and tourists alike flood the streets of Manhattan for a spectacular view of the sun setting in the west, flanked by the city\u2019s famous streetscapes. Nicknamed Manhattanhenge, the event attracts more people each year, and some gatherings are so dense that they block the streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a feel of urgency that some people have, that they don\u2019t want to miss it,\u201d said Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History who has computed the dates and the times for Manhattanhenge<\/a> for two decades. And \u201cpeople that don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on get very curious and jump in,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Faherty, drivers and police officers may get mad, because the crowds hold up traffic. \u201cBut at the same time, I think of it as a unifying moment,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few times as a New Yorker that you engage pretty readily in conversation with somebody, because everybody\u2019s interested in what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n When is Manhattanhenge?<\/p>\n This month, Manhattanhenge\u2019s first night occurs on Thursday, May 28. A second opportunity to see it occurs on Friday, May 29.<\/p>\n According to the American Museum of Natural History, Manhattanhenge will reach its fullest effect at 8:14 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday and at 8:13 p.m. on Friday.<\/p>\n The sunset will appear differently on consecutive days. On May 28, the top half of the sun will align with the city grid, but the next day, the full sun will be visible.<\/p>\n If you miss it this week, or the weather gets in the way, there will be two more chances to see it on the evenings of Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.<\/p>\n Will clouds get in the way?<\/p>\n Viewing conditions look promising on Thursday, with mostly clear evening skies expected, according to Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office serving New York City.<\/p>\n Friday may also offer an opportunity to view and photograph Manhattanhenge, although conditions are expected to be less favorable. Mr. Ciemnecki said \u201cit\u2019ll be a close call\u201d because of partly cloudy skies in the forecast, which could obscure the spectacle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like we\u2019ll start off mainly clear,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then it looks like some clouds move in later on Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n While viewing may still be possible during breaks in the clouds on Friday, Mr. Ciemnecki said, \u201cThursday looks like the best day.\u201d<\/p>\n Why should I see it?<\/p>\n Like solar eclipses<\/a> and the sun\u2019s dancing aurora<\/a>, Manhattanhenge is another instance of how our home star can bring people together.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s joyous,\u201d Dr. Faherty said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we should all just celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n Longer days, warmer weather and the winding down of the school year in New York City make Manhattanhenge somewhat of a kickoff event for summer. According to Dr. Faherty, the days between May Manhattanhenge and July Manhattanhenge are also a season of \u201cepic sunsets\u201d in a city whose urban canyons often obscure such views.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my \u2018welcome to the sun\u2019 moment,\u201d Dr. Faherty said, referring to the first Manhattanhenge in May. Every day after that, she added, \u201cI make it a point to watch the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n Why does Manhattanhenge happen?<\/p>\n The sun setting perfectly between Manhattan\u2019s skyscrapers results from the geometry of the sun and the Earth.<\/p>\n The sun sets in a different location every day because Earth is tilted on its axis as it orbits the sun. If you were to watch the sun set in the spring each day from the same spot, you would observe it set a little more north relative to the horizon, compared with the previous sunset. After the summer solstice, which occurs on June 21 this year, the sunsets start inching back south.<\/p>\n That\u2019s also why there are two chances to see Manhattanhenge, in May and in July; the dates occur on either side of the summer solstice. July\u2019s Manhattanhenge sunsets occur roughly seven minutes later than the two dates in May, an effect caused by the changing speed of Earth\u2019s orbit around the sun<\/a>.<\/p>\n Between these dates, viewers can still catch the sun emerging from behind the city\u2019s skyscrapers as it sets, though it will appear higher in the sky. But only when the bottom or the midpoint of the sun grazes the city grid, Dr. Faherty said, is it considered a Manhattanhenge.<\/p>\n How did Manhattanhenge start?<\/p>\n In the 1800s, city planners designed New York City as a grid: Its avenues run roughly north to south, and its cross streets are laid out at 90-degree angles, running approximately east to west.<\/p>\n That means Manhattanhenge is \u201cnot just going to happen at one street,\u201d Dr. Faherty said. \u201cIt happens across the entirety of the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n As long as this grid has existed, people have most likely noticed the phenomenon, she said.<\/p>\n The earliest mention of this effect that Dr. Faherty has been able to track down is a 1997 comic strip<\/a> published in the Natural History magazine. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, coined the name \u201cManhattanhenge\u201d in 2002, inspired by the ancient Stonehenge monument<\/a> in England.<\/p>\n Since then, excitement surrounding the event has grown every year.<\/p>\n Where can I see Manhattanhenge?<\/p>\n Among the most popular places to watch this special sunset is the Tudor City overpass, a pedestrian walkway above 42nd Street. The vantage point offers a good view of the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal and Times Square.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the mecca, Dr. Faherty said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really, really beautiful view.\u201d<\/p>\n Another favored location for photographers is the Park Avenue Viaduct a few avenues west, near Grand Central Terminal. But pedestrians aren\u2019t allowed up there, and police officers will most likely show up to clear any gathering crowds.<\/p>\n But any street running east to west in Manhattan with good visibility of New Jersey is fair game. \u201cThe key to watching Manhattanhenge is you have to be in the middle of the street,\u201d Dr. Faherty said. For the best views (and photos), she recommends finding a wide road framed by notable city structures.<\/p>\n On some parts of 34th Street, you can also see the Empire State Building; elsewhere on 42nd Street, you might be able to position Times Square in your frame. Wide roads like 14th Street, 23rd Street and 57th Street are also popular. Uptown on 145th Street and at Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens offer less populated places to catch the view.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Faherty, more and more people discover the event each summer, and she always receives photos from new Manhattanhenge viewers. There are also those who return faithfully to watch the event each year.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople come back religiously because they want to see it again and again,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n Nazaneen Ghaffar contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s that time again, New Yorkers. Manhattanhenge is upon us. Each year at the end of May, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[76,8,9,15377,20194,77,20195,7],"class_list":["post-34020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","tag-earth","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-seasons-and-months","tag-summer-season","tag-sun","tag-sunlight","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116653409387601902","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}