It’s time for New Yorkers to get very excited about the setting sun.
This is because Manhattanhenge is ahead of us. It can produce, weather permitting, four of the most spectacular sunsets of the year in New York.
The name is a New Yorker-style slope to Stonehenge, the ancient rock structure in the English countryside that aligns with sunsets and sunrises during the summer and winter solstices. This premodern monument was deliberately built for religious and spiritual reasons. In contrast, the New York network is not designed with sunsets in mind, but it ultimately works in a similar way. For four days every May and July, he can gather people to admire our particular geographical location in space as the sun settles on the horizon, disappearing perfectly along the city’s wide west-east corridors.
An event like Manhattangenge can stop the whole neighborhood, attracting people to celebrate an otherwise normal daily sunset.
As if New York couldn’t be more magical, Manhattan’s sunsets illuminate the streets with a glow of deep pink tangerine and gum, turning the bustling streets into a place to stop and say “wow.”
“It’s so famous because it’s a beautiful sunset,” said Jackie Faherty, a senior scientist and astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. “The sun kisses the bars of one of the greatest cities, if not the greatest city in the world, and touches the entire corridor of the concrete jungle with these incredible shades of gold. That’s a beautiful thing. “
When is Manhattanhenge?
You will have four chances to see it – twice in the spring and twice in the summer, at both ends of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, June 21.
This long Remembrance Day weekend, Manhattangenj happens twice:
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Sunday, May 29, half sun at 20:13 Eastern time.
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Monday, May 30, full sun at 8:12 p.m.
Then in July you will get two more chances to see a perfect sunset:
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Monday, July 11, full sun at 8:20 p.m.
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Tuesday, July 12, half sun at 8:21 p.m.
What is the difference between a half-sun and a full sun?
According to Dr. Faherty, this is a small but meaningful distinction – the half-sun will look as if the sun is cut in half and just grazes the horizon, while the full sun, where the whole sphere touches the sidewalk, is the real star of the show.
Why is Manhattan?
We are able to witness this celestial event due to the combination of the approaching summer solstice, the network design of the city and the natural shape that the island of Manhattan has adopted during the last ice age.
About 18,000 years ago, the massive ice sheet on top of North America began to melt, carving out the island of Manhattan and the modern landscape on which the city was built.
“We think Manhattan Island stretches from north to south. But it doesn’t really go north to south; it runs from northeast to southwest, “said Carol Crinky, an American architectural historian at New York University.
This orientation, combined with street design, allows the setting sun to put on this show, she said.
“The network system was designed for Manhattan before there was even an official New York,” Dr. Krinski added. The commissioners’ plan of 1811 put 90-degree blocks in motion for the city’s official design. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was mainly for the real estate market: most home buyers do not want to buy plots cut at strange angles.
So above 14th Street and below 155th Street, the city is cut into bars. When the Earth tilts toward and then away from the sun during the summer solstice, our beloved Manhattanhenge is the result. It also shows how man-made structures interact with the natural world.
“Things like this are deeply connected not only to the actual architecture of the universe around us, but also to our interaction with it,” said Caleb Scharf, an astronomer at Columbia University. “The city is a continuation of us.”
Dr. Scharf adds that just like Stonehenge, Manhattanhenge helps us find patterns in our environment and make sense of them.
“At some point, someone will ask themselves, ‘Why is this happening?'” He said. “Wait a minute, oh, the sun doesn’t stay in the same place on the horizon all the time. Why so? ‘ This can so often lead to these “Aha!” Moments when we suddenly have this desire to explain what we see instead of just saying, “Oh, that’s good.”
Where are the best places to watch?
Fortunately, anywhere in the network system above 14th Street can give you some views.
You also need to have a clear idea of New Jersey, and Dr. Faherty adds, “You really have to be in the middle of the street for the full effect, which is a little dangerous.”
Ideally, choose a street with wide alleys and a median where you can stand and watch safely. If there is a large hill, your view will be blocked.
Although almost everyone goes to 42nd Street, Dr. Faherty recommends 72nd Street instead. But if you want to join the crowds further downtown, Pershing Square is a prime view, as is the area above Grand Central Station in the taxi line. As the New York City Police Department tries to stop watching there every year, photographers are crowded and it can be quite chaotic.
Manhattan is also visible outside of Manhattan. In Brooklyn or Queens, Dr. Faherty says there are various places where you can see straight through the city to New Jersey. For the best off-island experience, she recommends Gantry State Park in Queens.
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