The summer solstice shines a light on Britain’s Stonehenge in the most perfect way with the sun rising between the pillars of the Wiltshire landmark.
Now it’s New York’s turn. The Big Apple doesn’t have a prehistoric monument but it does have a city grid system which lines up twice a year with the rising and setting sun to create Manhattanhenge.
The term was coined by Neil deGrasse Tyson from the American Museum of Natural History.
“For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice when the sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signalling the change of season,” he wrote on the museum’s website.
“For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year, when the setting sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough’s grid. A rare and beautiful sight.”
The urban phenomenon does not match the solstice because NYC’s streets don’t run absolutely north south but at a slight angle.
Expect social media to be awash with pictures of the setting sun as people face towards neighbouring New Jersey at the all-important moment.
Providing there are no clouds in the way – as there was during the last Manhattanhenge in May – the full sun will be visible at 8.20pm on July 12. The following day half of the sun will be visible.
