According to the geniuses at the Museum of Natural History, we are in for another round of the phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge in the next two days. The photo above by Upper West Side photographer Michael Huitt is of Manhattanhenge on 72nd Street last year.
Manhattanhenge occurs “when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough’s grid.” as Natural History scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it. It’s called Manhattanhenge because (like Stonehenge) it seems to have some mystical significance. Also, it’s fun to add suffixes to words, like how every scandal now ends in -gate.
Be aware: It is both easy and hard to miss Manhattanhenge. It’s visible from most East-West blocks in the city, but it lasts for mere minutes (really just seconds at its height). So get ready, and get your cameras out! On Tuesday at 8:17 p.m., there will be a half-Manhattanhenge (half the sun will be below the horizon as it crosses the street grid), and on Wednesday the full sun will appear in the street grid at 8:25 8:16 p.m. (sorry, I had Wednesday’s time wrong.) It will happen again in July, according to the museum.
“For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th. 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. The Empire State building and the Chrysler building render 34th street and 42nd streets especially striking vistas.”
Check out some photos of last year’s Manhattanhenge here and here. And send your photos of this year’s events to us at info at westsiderag dot com!
And watch out for cars.They will run you down!