The Manhattanhenge Phenomenon

[The One]

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Hit it just right and you might just see this for yourself! Twice a year in Manhattan, New York, for about 20 minutes, the sunset aligns precisely with the city's street grid to simultaneously illuminate both the north and south sides of every cross street. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History popularized the phenomenon in 2002, naming it "Manhattanhenge."

Since Manhattanhenge's two days happen to fall near Memorial Day and Baseball's All Star break, some people have suggested that future anthropologists will conclude that Americans worshipped war and baseball. Funny thing is, they wouldn't be too far off

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http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/dazzling-sunset-creates-manhattanhenge-in-new-york-20110714-1hfff.html

[Fred Steeves]

I don't understand why there are two different dates this occurs on around the summer solstice. If it was layed out in 1811 to have a henge effect, I would think it would be in June 21, and that's it. Why two different dates equally spaced before and after? May 31 and July 13.

Cheers,
Fred

[The One]

May 31 and July 13.

Thanks Fred S I have found this in relation to the dates Its quite intersting


The 2011 Manhattanhenge dates:

Half-sun on the grid:
Monday, May 30 at 8:17 p.m.
Tuesday, July 12 Wednesday, July 13 at 8:25 p.m.

Full-sun on the grid:
Tuesday, May 31 at 8:17 p.m.
Monday, July 11 Tuesday, July 12 at 8:25 p.m.


http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/resources/starstruck/manhattanhenge/