Manhattanhenge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manhattanhenge (also known as Manhattan Solstice) is a biannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. The name comes from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices.
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 (as with the solstices and equinoxes, the dates vary somewhat from year to year). Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, coined the term Manhattanhenge in several of his writings in 2002.
