Manhattanhenge returns for perfect sunsets on New York’s Grid

Update: This article was published in 2022 and now includes 2023 dates and times.

It’s time for New Yorkers to get really excited about the setting sun.

That’s because Manhattanhenge is coming. It can produce four of New York City’s most striking sunsets of the year, weather permitting.

The name is a New York-style nod to Stonehenge, the ancient rock structure in the English countryside that aligns with the sunsets and sunrises during the summer and winter solstices. That pre-modern monument was built on purpose for religious and spiritual reasons. The New York City grid, on the other hand, wasn’t designed with sunsets in mind, but it ultimately functions in a similar way. For four days in May and July, it can bring people together to admire our specific geographic location in the cosmos as the sun sinks below the horizon and disappears perfectly along the wide west-east corridors of the city.

An event like Manhattanhenge can bring the entire borough to a standstill and provoke people to celebrate an otherwise normal daily sunset.

As if New York couldn’t get any more magical, Manhattanhenge’s sunsets illuminate the streets with a glow of deep tangerine and bubblegum pink, turning the busy streets into a place to pause 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 grid of one of the greatest cities, if not the greatest city in the world, hitting the entire hallway of the concrete jungle with these amazing golden hues. It’s a beautiful thing.”

When is Manhattanhenge?

You get four chances to see it – twice in the spring and twice in the summer, on either end of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, on June 21.

May viewings begin at the end of the long Memorial Day weekend:

Monday, May 29, part sun at 8:13 p.m. Eastern Time.
Tuesday, May 30, full sun at 8:12 p.m

According to the National Weather Service, weather conditions are favorable for viewing Manhattanhenge in May. Forecasts show that clear conditions are expected for the part sun on Monday evening. Tuesday’s conditions have improved for the full sun show, with mostly clear skies expected by weather forecasters after originally expecting more clouds.

For July, you get two more chances to see a perfect sunset:

Wednesday 12 July full sun at 8.20 pm
Thursday, July 13, part sun at 8:21 p.m

Is the view better in May or July?

Both viewing dates are equally good. But the weather in May tends to be a bit more erratic, making July the most solid bet for good viewing.

And as dr. Faherty notes, “In July it comes late evening and mid-summer when everyone in town is out on the street.” For that reason, more people are likely to see Manhattanhenge, even if by accident.

What is the difference between half sun and full sun?

According to Dr Faherty, it’s a small but meaningful distinction: the half-sun will look like the sun is cut in half and just brushing the horizon, while the full sun, where the full sphere hits the pavement, is the real star of the sun is. show.

Why is Manhattanhenge happening?

We can witness this celestial event because of a combination of the approaching summer solstice, the city’s grid design, and the natural shape Manhattan Island took on during the last Ice Age.

Some 18,000 years ago, the massive ice cap on top of North America began to melt, carving the island of Manhattan and the modern landscape upon which the city was built.

“We think Manhattan Island runs from north to south. But it doesn’t really run from north to south; it runs northeast to southwest,” says Carol Krinksy, an American architectural historian at New York University.

This orientation combined with the street design allows the setting sun to shine in the west on this show, she said. “The grid system was designed for Manhattan before there was even an official city of New York,” added Dr. The Plan of the Commissioners of 1811 moving blocks of 90 degrees for the official design of the city. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was primarily for the real estate market: Most homebuyers don’t want to buy lots that are cut at weird angles.

So above 14th Street and below 155th Street, the city is divided into a grid. When the Earth tilts toward the sun and then away from the sun during the summer solstice, our beloved Manhattanhenge is the result. It also shows how the structures built by humans interact with the natural world.

“Such things are intimately tied 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 an extension of us.”

Dr. Scharf adds that, like Stonehenge, Manhattanhenge helps us find and understand patterns in our environment.

“At some point someone will have the question, ‘Why is that happening?'” he said. “’Wait a minute, oh, the sun isn’t in the same spot on the horizon all the time. Why is that?’ This can so often lead to that ‘Aha!’ moments when we suddenly feel the urge to actually explain what we’re seeing, rather than just say, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’”

Where is the best place to look?

Fortunately, anywhere in the grid above 14th Street gives you some sort of view.

You should also have a clear view of New Jersey, and Dr. Adds Faherty, “You really have to be in the middle of the street for the full effect, which is a bit dangerous.”

Preferably choose a street with wide avenues and a central reservation on which you can safely stand and watch. If there is a big hill, your view will be blocked.

Although almost everyone goes to 42nd Street, Dr. Faherty instead on 72nd Street. But if you want to join the crowds further downtown, Pershing Square is an excellent place to check out, as is the area above Grand Central Station in the Taxi Line. As the New York Police Department tries to stop viewing there every year, photographers crowd the venue and it can be quite chaotic.

Manhattanhenge is also visible outside of Manhattan. In Brooklyn of Queens, Dr. Faherty, there are several locations where you can see across the city to New Jersey. For the best off-island experience, she recommends Gantry State Park in Queens.

Are there concerns about Covid in the crowds of Manhattanhenge?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the the risk of transmission is less likely outdoors. But in a large gathering where it’s hard to avoid close proximity to people outside your home, wearing a mask for the duration of a sunset can be a safe bet.