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Credit & Copyright: Neil deGrasse
Tyson
(AMNH)
Explanation:
This coming Saturday, if it is clear, well placed New Yorkers can
go
outside at sunset and watch their city act like a modern version of
Stonehenge.
Manhattan's streets will flood dramatically with
sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely at each street's western end.
Usually, the tall
buildings
that line the gridded streets of
New York City's tallest borough will hide the setting Sun.
This effect makes Manhattan
a type of modern
Stonehenge,
although only aligned to about 30
degrees east of north.
Were Manhattan's
road grid perfectly aligned to east and west,
today's effect would occur on the
Vernal and
Autumnal Equinox,
March 21 and September 21, the only two days that the
Sun rises and sets due east and west.
Pictured above in this horizontally stretched image,
the Sun sets down
34th Street as
viewed from
Park Avenue.
If Saturday's sunset is hidden by clouds do not despair -- the same thing happens twice each year:
in late May and mid July.
On none of these occasions, however, should you ever
look directly at the Sun.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sunset
Publications with words: sunset
See also: