Hello Friends!
Today I’m going to talk you about one of my recent experiences: the view of the Manhattanhenge.
The Manhattanhenge is a particular phenomenon that happens 2 times per year, during which the sun is perfectly in line with the Manhattan grid during the sunset. Only in these days you can see the sun perfectly centered between Manhattan buildings.
It was Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist of ameican Museum of Natural History, to chose the name. He was inspired by the Stonehenge’s similar phenomenon (the famous british archaeological site), in which during the summer solstice the sun is perfectly aligned with the main stone on the entrance of the site.
Some curiosities
- Manhattanhenge happens 2 times per year (between 28th and 30th of May and between the 11th and
12th of July), and the dates depend from the date of summer solstice; - The Manhattan’s grid is rotated of 29 degrees in clock’s direction, and this is the reason why the Manhattanhenge happens only in specific days;
- During the two days there is an Half Sun (in 2016 29th of May and 12th of July),during which half the disk sits above and half below the horizon and a Full sun (in 2016 the 30th of may and 11th of July) in which the sun is all over the horizon;
- There is also the alignment between the sun and the Manhattan grid for the sunrises and it happens around 5th of December and 8th of January;
- It doesn’t exist only the Manhattanhenge. There are the same phenomenon in all the cities with a grid and a clear vision of the horizon. Other cities when we have the same spectacle are: Baltimora (Baltimorahenge) sunrise 25th of March and 18th of September and for sunsets 12th of March and 29 of September, Chicago (Chicagohenge) the 25th of September and 20th of March, Toronto ( Torontohenge) the 25th of October and 26 of February and Montreal (Montrealhenge) the 12th of July.
Best spots for seeing the Manhattanhenge
Manhattanhenge is not visible outside the Manhattan grid, of course you cannot see it in Downtown or Financial District because of the direction of the streets. You need to be on the East SIde of the Island (not cross the 5th avenue) and you need a clear vision of the New Jersey. The best corner are at 14th, 34th, 42nd and 57th street. In my opinion the best spots are at 34th and Park Avenue, where you can have also the view of the Empire State Building on your left, and 42nd street because you can have the Madame Tussaud and Time Square’s lights like a frame for the sun.
Manhattanhenge 2016
The dates were 29th and 30th of May at 8.12 pm, but unfortunately there were a lot of clouds it was impossible to see the sun, and 11th and 12th of July, in these days it was awesome!
My spot for the July’s dates was between 34th street and Park Avenue. In the video below I showed you the Highlights of the full sun (July 11) and the entire half sun show (July 12).
I’m not a professional photographer, and i brought with me only my cell because I wanted to enjoy the show, so I’m sorry if there are not the best images possible. There was a lot of people to see those sunsets: a lot of New Yorkers, tourists, photographers, it was a caos and Park avenue was completely blocked and the taxi drivers were really upset about it!
In this post I tried to explain my emotions, I hope I did it. Remember that if you will be in new york around these dates, check when exactly will be the Manhattanhenge! You cannot miss it!
I hope you enjoy the post and this other tiny bite of New York city!
We’ll see on the next Travel Notes…
Stay Tuned!
Tricks in this post: 1. what is the Manhattanhenge and some info about it; 2. the others "henge"; 3. where and when see the Manhattanhenge; 4. Manhattanhenge 2016 my experience.