New Yorkers and tourists alike spending their Memorial Day in the Big Apple on Monday will be treated to a show that will stop the city: Manhattanhenge.
Manhattanhenge, a portmanteau of «Manhattan» and «Stonehenge,» is a twice-yearly solar event when the setting sun aligns directly with the city grid, casting golden rays through the city streets. Several of the stones of Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, experience a perfect alignment with the sun. during the summer and winter solsticesreason why the event takes its name from the rock formation.
A sunset at Manhattanhenge can bring the borough to a standstill as city dwellers and visitors alike clamor for a glimpse, and perhaps a snapshot, of the city bathed in golden light.
This year’s Manhattanhenge dates correspond to both Memorial Day and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, according to the American Museum of Natural History.
«During these two days, when the Sun sets on the grid, half of the disk is above and half below the horizon. My personal preference for photography. But the next day also offers moments of Manhattanhenge, but at sunset, instead, you will find the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon», Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History, said on the museum website.
Those wishing to view the Manhattanhenge half sun can do so at 8:13 p.m. ET on Monday and again on Thursday, July 13 at 8:21 p.m. ET.
The full sun effect can be seen at 8:12 p.m. ET on Tuesday and again at 8:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 12.
The museum recommends viewing the event on the east-west lanes of Manhattan’s 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, or 57th streets.