Manhattanhenge: A New York Sunset
Explanation:
Today, if it is clear, well placed New Yorkers can go outside at
sunset and watch their city act like a modern version of Stonehenge.
Manhattan will flood dramatically with
sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely on the
centerline of every street.
Usually, the tall buildings that line the gridded streets of
New York City's tallest borough will hide the setting Sun.
This effect makes
Manhattan
a type of modern
Stonehenge,
although only aligned to about 30
degrees east of north.
Were
Manhattan's road grid perfectly aligned to east and west,
today's effect would occur on the
Vernal and
Autumnal Equinox,
March 21 and September 21, the only two days that the
Sun rises and sets due east and west.
Pictured above in this horizontally stretched image, the the Sun sets down
34th Street as viewed from
Park Avenue.
If today's sunset is hidden by clouds
do not despair -- the same thing happens twice each year,
in late May and mid July.
On none of these occasions, however, should you ever
look directly at the Sun.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
