Today is Manhattanhenge.

28 May

From Wikipedia, the web source with the most truthiness:

“Manhattanhenge (sometimes referred to as Manhattan Solstice) is a semi-annual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan’s main street grid. The term is derived from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. It applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 which laid out a grid offset 28.9 degrees from true east-west.

At sunset, a traveler along one of the north-south avenues on the West Side while looking east can observe the phenomenon indirectly, being struck by the reflected light of the many windows which are aligned with the grid. An observer on the East Side can look west and see the Sun shining down a canyon-like street.

The dates of Manhattanhenge are usually May 28 and July 12 or July 13. The two corresponding mornings of sunrise right on the center lines of the Manhattan grid are approximately December 5 and January 8.[1] As with the solstices andequinoxes, the dates vary somewhat from year to year.”

4 Responses to “Today is Manhattanhenge.”

  1. themaykazine May 29, 2008 at 9:54 pm #

    hi there,

    i just wanted to drop a line because you came up in a wordpress hot post for “manhattanhenge,” and i noticed that you’re also a dancer! we at least have three things in common, now – the same wordpress theme, a love of dance, and former employment at apple retail. 🙂

    just wanted to send you a friendly hello from the san francisco bay area.

    happy dancing/macing!
    ~M.

  2. asad123 May 29, 2008 at 10:30 pm #

    Man, if I had stayed in NYC just a little longer I could have seen it. Oh well, I guess I can try again in July.

  3. appleandorange May 29, 2008 at 11:52 pm #

    Yes, it is beautiful! Thanks for the comments.

  4. nozaki May 30, 2008 at 3:49 am #

    I’d like to visit New York during this period of time someday.

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