Have you heard of this word? I haven't! Haha! Not until I saw a friend's post in FB about missing "it". What is "it"?
As explained in Wikipedia:
Manhattanhenge – sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice – is a circumstance which occurs twice a year, during which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The neologism is derived from Stonehenge, where the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices with a similarly dramatic effect. The word was popularized in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. The term applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which are laid out in a grid offset 29.0 degrees from true east–west. (The 29.0 degrees should be added to true east and west, making the western bearing approximately 299.0 degrees.) During Manhattanhenge, an observer on one of the gridded east-west streets will see the sun setting over New Jersey directly opposite, from the street, along its centerline.
The dates of Manhattanhenge usually occur around May 28 and July 12 or July 13 – spaced evenly around the summer solstice.
Uhhh . . . I have to say, I actually understood the explanation better. . . . in pictures! Hahaha!!!
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| Image from www.myupperwest.com |
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| Image from www.manhattansunset.com |
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| Image from www.bloomberg.com |
New York's skyscrapers usually hide the setting sun. So this phenomenon where the sun sets on the center line of the street is something that is worth seeing and take pictures of.
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| Image from www.blog.timesunion.com |
If you want to catch the next Manhattan sunset, the next (and last for the year) one is happening on Friday, July 12, 2013.
Just like me, I hope you learned something new today. =)
Here's to capturing a beautiful sunset (wherever we are) at least once in our lives!
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