
Happy ManhattanHenge - brudgers
http://abc7ny.com/news/manhattanhenge-returns-monday-lighting-up-streets-from-east-to-west/1421677/
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danso
FWIW, if you actually want to participate in this, be advised that you have to
get there extremely early to get a good spot. I remember going out in 2009
about a couple hours early and the main spots (such as the Tudor overpass [0],
which is elevated over a main street and is situated about as far east as you
can go without being in the river) were already staked out by folks with
tripods and telephoto lens.

I ended up hopping in a cab and having the cab driver go up and down the
midtown streets. Didn't get any iconic shots [1] but it was fun, as the cab
driver was really into it. But even 7 years ago, pre-Instagram, crowds of
people would step out in front of traffic to get a shot of Manhattanhenge.

Uber wasn't around back then. I wonder if you could get better shots than I
did from the back of a taxi by riding shotgun?

[0] [https://foursquare.com/v/tudor-city-
overpass/4fc6addde4b0115...](https://foursquare.com/v/tudor-city-
overpass/4fc6addde4b01153fc551766)

[1] From my Flickr:
[https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=32451477@N02&q=manhattanhen...](https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=32451477@N02&q=manhattanhenge)

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jballanc
I always find it funny that the summer ManhattanHenges (there are two, one as
the sun's inclination increases and one as it decreases) are so celebrated,
yet the winter versions of the phenomena (when the sun lines up with the city
grid at sunrise) are ignored. As someone who used to have to drive uphill
along one of Manhattan's streets during my winter morning commute, they were
far more noticeable/annoying.

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sandworm101
I had an astronomy prof who cancelled morning classes on the days where the
sun lined up with the roads. He even lobbied the university to make it some
sort of road safety holiday.

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whoopdedo
If I had a time machine one of the things I'd do is go three thousand years
into the future and laugh at the archeologists who speculate about our
culture's obsession with astronomy because we built this "religious monument"
that aligns with the sun on a particular day of the year.

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saalweachter
If I had a time machine I'd go back and convince them to align the grid more
perfectly, so that it happened precisely at the solstices instead of just
before/after.

~~~
acjohnson55
But this way, you get double the Manhattanhenge. Seems like a good trade to
me!

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brudgers
One theory is that archaic Manhattanites celebrated a long midsummer religious
holiday. It began with the sun rising between the temples and ended weeks
later with its setting between the temples. Of course, the constraints of
underwater archeology makes definitive interpretation difficult.

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sandworm101
> The term "Manhattanhenge" was coined by Museum of Natural History Hayden
> Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Really? Him? He was the first to make that link? Or was he simply the first to
use the term on television.

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Grue3
Time to listen to "The Chemistry of Common Life" [1]

[1] [http://matablog.matadorrecords.com/wp-
content/uploads/2008/1...](http://matablog.matadorrecords.com/wp-
content/uploads/2008/10/ole-807-the-chemistry-of.jpg)

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th0ma5
We need to come up with a better name as this happens in all cities with East-
West roads.

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felixhandte
Manhattan's East-West streets are not laid out due East/West. They're actually
29 degrees clockwise of the true cardinal directions!

So these dates are particular to Manhattan.

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hammock
That is a fun fact, and also explains why manhattanhenge only happens at
sunset and not also sunrise. A true east-west sunrise/sunset occurs at the
equinoxes (Spring and Fall)

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timdierks
It does happen at sunrise roughly 18 days before and after the winter
solstice. (Dec 3 and Jan 10)

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nathancahill
Huh, we were just talking about this looking at the sunset behind Manhattan
across the river from Brooklyn yesterday. Didn't know it was almost the exact
day it happens.

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gr3yh47
>The sun sets on 23th Street during 'Manhattanhenge' on July 11, 2014 in New
York City. (Getty)

>on 23th Street

>23th

good job abc

~~~
throwanem
Nothing wrong with the sentiment, but the 4chan style isn't going to win you
friends here.

