Manhattanhenge July 11, 2012, Sun Aligns Perfectly With Manhattan's Numbered Street

As the Sun sets on July 11, 2012, it will be perfectly aligned with Manhattan’s numbered streets, showering them in light and creating cinema-worthy views. Director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson, who coined the phrase “Manhattanhenge,” has written in his Hayden Planetarium blog: “What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England.”

Manhattanhenge from Times Square

Credit: © Courtesy of Katie Killary 

Join astrophysicist Jackie Faherty to learn the history and simple astronomy behind this unique event in a special presentation at the Hayden Planetarium. The program will be followed by a live viewing of Manhattanhenge outside the Museum.

Credit: Wikipedia

Contacts and sources: 

American Museum of Natural History