July 11, 2013 9:28 pm

Manhattanhenge Is Tomorrow – But You Can Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson Explain It Right Now!

Manhattanhenge, a photo by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Sunset looking down 34th Street. One of two days when the sunset is exactly aligned with the grid of streets in Manhattan.
Copyright © 2001, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Tomorrow is Manhattanhenge again! For those of you who don’t know, that’s when the setting Sun lines up perfectly with the street grid in Manhattan.

The American Museum of Natural History just posted a great video of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining how he came up with the term Manhattanhenge, so rather than me writing about it, let’s all just sit back and watch the Director of the Hayden Planetarium do his thing. One note: in the video, Neil says Manhattanhenge is July 11. That was last year’s date. This year, it’s:

7/12/13 Manhattanhenge, Full Sun, 8:23 PM EDT
7/13/13 Manhattanhenge, Half Sun, 8:24 PM EDT

There’s a 70% chance of rain for NYC Friday, and they say Saturday will be cloudy, so once again, the weather may get in the way. But if it doesn’t, and you happen to be in NYC tomorrow, you may just get to see a show. For the best viewing streets in NYC, check out the AMNH page on Manhattanhenge.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up.

–Jeffrey Simons

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