Manhattanhenge: New Yorkers gather to snap beautiful sunset
- Published
On Tuesday, thousands of people in the American city of New York gathered to snap pictures of a twice-yearly event known as Manhattanhenge. But what is it?
Essentially, Manhattanhenge is a sunset. But what makes it so special is down to the way the city of New York was built. All the streets were constructed in a perfect grid, meaning you can see really far down some of them. Twice a year, when the Earth is in the right position in relation to the Sun, the sunset is aligned perfectly with Manhattan's skyscrapers, and can be seen framed between the buildings.
Similar "henge" phenomena also occur in other cities with large amounts of skyscrapers and long straight streets - such as Chicago, Montreal and Toronto. This view of Manhattanhenge is from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River.
The sunset happens every May and July for two nights, and there's a sunrise version in Winter. Thousands of tourists and locals come to see the spectacle every year, in order to get the perfect photo.
Famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson came up with the term Manhattanhenge in 1997. He was inspired by its likeness to Stonehenge here in the UK, because on the Summer and Winter solstice, the Sun also aligns with the stones there.
The next Manhattanhenge will take place on 12 July at 20:20 and on 13 July at 20:21 local time. The streets with the best view are 57th Street, 42nd Street, 34th Street, 23rd Street and 14th Street, according to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
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