On Monday and Tuesday next week, the spectacular "Manhattanhenge" phenomenon will be visible from New York City.
This term, which was coined by American astrophysicist and popular science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, refers to the moments in the year when the sun sets in perfect alignment with the Manhattan street grid.
During these moments, which occur on four evenings every year, the half or full disk of the sun "kisses" the grid, illuminating every cross street during the last few minutes of daylight as it sets exactly on the centerline of these throughways.
The explanation behind the phenomenon begins with the fact that Manhattan is an island whose long end faces North-South (albeit not exactly North-South).
"In the 1800s a plan was put in place to guide the development of the island and the commissioners at that time decided to create 90 degree angles with the cross streets which happen to face (in general) East-West," Jacqueline Faherty, an astrophysicist from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, told Newsweek.
"When they did that they created a bullseye for the sun to hit when it sets on or around May 29 and July 11," Faherty said.
This occurs due to the fact that the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees with respect to its orbit around the sun.
"As such there are times when Manhattan is pointing more directly toward the sun (summer) and times when it is less directly toward the sun (winter). On the dates of Manhattanhenge, our city is staring straight down the barrel at the sun around 93 million miles away right at the moment it sets below the horizon," she said.
The first set of Manhattanhenge dates in 2022 were May 29 and 30 during the Memorial Day weekend. The second set of dates will be July 11 and 12.
On Monday, July 11, the full solar disk will be visible just above the horizon on the Manhattan street grid at 8:20 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, July 12, meanwhile, half of the solar disk will be visible on the grid at 8:21 p.m. ET.
According to Faherty, you generally have to be on the street grid of Manhattan to see the event.
"It is all about the angle. If you go off the grid by even a degree you will be out of alignment," she said. "As long as you can see all the way across Manhattan to New Jersey, you will catch the event. I always tell people to decide by their favorite buildings and then map out a safe way to find yourself in the middle of the street.
"The most famous locations to watch from are 42nd Street (overpass above Tudor City or above Pershing Square), 34th Street, 23rd Street, 14th Street, 72nd Street, and my new favorite: 145th Street."
