manhattanhenge

Image source: July 2001 Natural History magazine

Someone shared this interesting tidbit of knowledge with me - it's called Manhattanhenge, when the sun sets in alignment with Manhattan's street grid. From a message from an office of the American Museum of Natural History:

For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes on Thursday, May 29h this year, one of only two occasions when the Sun sets in exact alignment with the Manhattan grid, fully illuminating every single cross-street for the last fifteen minutes of daylight. The other day is Saturday, July 12th. These two days give you a photogenic view with half the Sun above and half the Sun below the horizon -- on the grid.

As you may know, had Manhattan's grid been perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line, then the days of Manhattanhenge would be the spring and autumn equinoxes, the only two days on the calendar when the Sun rises due-east and sets due-west. But Manhattan's street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar.

Arrive a half-hour earlier than the times given below.
Half Sun on grid: Thursday, May 29 -- 8:17 p.m. EDT
Full Sun on grid: Friday, May 30 -- 8:16 p.m. EDT