At sundown tonight , anyone in Manhattan can clump to the major thoroughfares for the bi - annual sunset that aligns perfectly with the city grid . But Manhattan is n’t the only city with a Stonehenge - day to light concrete canyon of skyscrapers .
Sunset at Stonehenge . Image credit : Charles Roffey ( charlesfred )
In the mists of chronicle , Neil deGrasse Tyson describe Manhattanhenge , date in belated May and mid - July when the sunset aligns with the street grid . In his distinctive prose - fill fashion , he define the upshot as :
when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street control grid , create a refulgent gleaming of light across Manhattan ’s brick and blade canyons , simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every hybrid street of the borough ’s grid . A rare and beautiful visual sense . These two days happen to jibe with Memorial Day and Baseball ’s All Star break . Future anthropologists might conclude that , via the Sun , the people who call themselves Americans worshiped War and Baseball .
Neil deGrasse Tyson ’s sketch of the 2012 Manhattanhenge .
This year , the date are tonight for the half - sunshine , or tomorrow for the full sun , and again on July 11th and 12th . WhileManhattan is the focal stop tonightwith its gridiron ’s 29 - academic degree tilt from due north , residents of the other boroughs with their slightly - unlike grids each have their own special dates . Find the dates for anywhere in New York City using theNYChenge function . Because that ’s anOpen Street Map , you may take that information and make your own projects , too .
Analemma of the sun , a twelvemonth of photo at 8 am over Budapest , Hungary . Image credit : György Soponyai ( vanamonde81 )
Due to the Earth ’s axial lean with respect to its gyration about the sun , sunset cower north and southward between the solstices each yr . Any city with a grid street system and a clear opinion of the horizon has its own cityhenge day , find by the alignment of the power system with regard to that solar creep .
A gridded city ’s henge date depends on its alignment with respect to north . you could reckon it out through thrifty observance , or get a pretty good guesswork from using thethis Photographer ’s Ephemeris puppet .
I care nights far comfortably than mornings , so my favourite cityhenge dates are all sunsets leading into star - fulfill Night . If you prefer morning light , assay using the same tool but checking date to line up the lighter - Orange River cockcrow line instead of the grim - orange tree sunsets .
Here ’s my prediction for upcoming cityhenge particular date for gridded metropolis around the United States :
Chicago ’s business district storage-battery grid is just 2 degree off north , placingChicagohengemuch nearer to the vernal and autumn equinoxes . The next opportunity is September 25th . Salt Lake City is even closer to a geographical - north coalition , with their cityhenge date falling on September 24th for this yr . I have no thought what we ’d call that one : Salthenge does n’t exactly roll off the natural language .
Chicagohenge . Image credit : kgnixer
Washington , DC has the accurate same grid alignment as Chicago , so should be a henge on the same date ( September 25th ) , although I ’ve yet to see someone lionize it . Any capital letter area reader , can you do me a favor and test the possibility this autumn ? Or do you think back being blind when commute on east - west streets on the equinoxes ?
Philadelphia is 9 degree off compass north , soPhillyhengealso hug the equinox . If the weather cooperates , sunset on September 5th will be aligned with the street grid .
Sacramento near the Capital Buildings may be a henge at sundown August 16th , but I ’m not certain about the horizon - purview . Again , local reader , aid me out with your computer memory of being blind in dealings or take a field - trip for skill this summer !
Down to the south , Austin has a whole assortment of grids , with cityhenge potentials for dissimilar neighbourhoods . Most neighbourhoods can purport for the solstice on June 21st , wiggling back and onward by a few Day depend on their special conjunction , while the business district grid is on its own conjunction with a henge on August 9th this year .
Even single buildings with long , uncoiled corridor can have their own private -henge . For MIT , of course of instruction that date is immortalized in video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PP5V8pL1xg
If one day we start building on Mars , we ’ll be able-bodied to calculate henge - dates for it , too , as the sun traces a teardrop around the sky .
Did I omit a city with the potentiality for a fantastic cityhenge escort ? Have any photographs to share from past cityhenges ? Share them with me !
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