New York City residents and visitors gathered this week to witness Manhattanhenge, a rare and visually striking sunset phenomenon in which the setting sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s east-west street grid, creating a dramatic glow framed by the city’s skyscrapers. The event, which occurs twice each year, once again drew photographers and spectators to key vantage points across the city.

The latest occurrence took place on Thursday, with another alignment expected on Friday, followed by repeat events on July 11 and July 12. During Manhattanhenge, the sun appears positioned precisely between rows of high-rise buildings, creating a corridor of light that transforms the city’s streets into natural viewing galleries at dusk.

Manhattanhenge typically occurs around three weeks before and after the summer solstice, rather than on the solstice itself. This timing is linked to the alignment of the sunset with Manhattan’s rigid street grid. The phenomenon was popularised by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who coined the term in 1997 after drawing a comparison between Manhattan’s urban geometry and the ancient stone alignment of Stonehenge.

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According to the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, viewers can experience two variations of the event. On some dates, half the sun appears above the horizon and half below at the moment of alignment. On others, the full sun can be seen hovering between buildings just before it dips below the horizon across the Hudson River, offering a more complete visual spectacle.

Traditional viewing locations include major east-west streets such as 14th Street, 23rd Street, 34th Street, 42nd Street, and 57th Street. The effect becomes more dramatic further east, where sunlight reflects off building facades, and it can also be viewed from parts of Queens across the East River, particularly Long Island City.

However, visibility depends heavily on weather conditions, with cloudy or rainy skies obscuring the event entirely. Similar grid-aligned sunset phenomena occur in other cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, and Toronto, but Manhattanhenge remains the most famous due to New York’s dense skyline and the unobstructed view toward the Hudson River, which amplifies the visual impact of the setting sun.

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