Manhattanhenge: One last chance to see the sun align with NYC’s street grid
The sun sets along 42nd Street in Manhattan on May 29, 2013, during an annual phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge,” when the sun aligns perfectly with the city’s transit grid.
Manhattanhenge, Take 2
Residents, photographers and tourists alike were disappointed Friday night when a low cloud cover kept them from seeing the full glory of Manhattanhenge, those rare, fleeting moments when the setting sun lines up perfectly with the Big Apple's street grid.
But they'll get another chance Saturday, at precisely 8:12 p.m. EDT.
And even though Friday night might have fallen short of expectations, it was still stunning enough to stop New York in its tracks, according to these photos.
"#Manhattanhenge" has been zinging around the Internet this weekend, thanks in part to the man widely credited with coining the term: astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, tweeted about the phenomenon earlier today. In a post about Manhattanhenge on New York City's American Museum of Natural History website he wrote:
Expect a "rare and beautiful sight" as "the setting sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan's brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid."
Manhattanhenge gets its name, as you might have guessed, from Britain's Stonehenge, which receives more than 1 million visitors a year.
The prehistoric monument is home to one of the most stunning sights in the world: The sun, as it peeks through the massive stones erected there to mark the summer and winter solstice and the passing of the seasons.
Google has put together this map of what it dubs the best places to see Manhattanhenge.
But if you can't get to Manhattan in time to see it firsthand, don't worry.
Between your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds, you'll feel like you were there!
If you take a picture of Manhattanhenge, tag me on Twitter @renelynch so I can see it
Updated at 7:26 a.m.: This story was updated to reflect Friday night's weather conditions, and include a link to photos of the event.
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