Manhattanhenge returns to NYC this month – here's how to see the spectacular sky show

Yahoo

28-05-2025

Manhattanhenge is making its heavenly return to the Big Apple at the end of the month.
The annual phenomenon — when New Yorkers watch in awe as the setting sun aligns perfectly with the city grid — is back for two evenings in May and two more in July.
'You can't miss it if you're outside at sunset,' said Dr. Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, to The Post on Monday.
'It's really what I like to call astronomy in your face: The sun is beaming down the grid of Manhattan, and it's a reminder that we're on this rock that's moving around.
'It's an astronomy lesson that's also a gorgeous sunset picture in the greatest city in the world,' Faherty said.
The golden crosstown views happen each year before and after the summer solstice, when the sun sets just north — and later, south — enough to align with Manhattan's grid.
While the sun will meander between crosstown streets from May 28 and July 12 in what Faherty calls the 'Manhattanhenge Effect,' the sun won't perfectly align with the grid save for four sunsets this year.
A 'half sun' framed by city buildings – and partly cut off at the horizon in a picture-perfect view – will be visible Wednesday, May 28, at 8:13 p.m. and Saturday, July 12, at 8:22 p.m., Faherty said.
A 'full sun' will be visible Thursday, May 29, at 8:12 p.m. and Friday, July 11, at 8:20 p.m.
Faherty recommends arriving between 30 and 40 minutes beforehand at your desired location to ensure a good spot and a full show.
'You'll be able to just watch for a while, because the light starts to change and the sun makes a grand entrance,' she said. 'It's got an anticipation factor.'
The best views in Manhattan will be along 14th Street, 23rd Street, 34th Street, 42nd Street, 57th Street and the Tudor City Overpass, Faherty said.
Hunter's Point South Park in Long Island City, Queens, and Gantry State Park are other optimal viewing locations — as well as anywhere in the outer boroughs so long as you can see all the way to New Jersey.
Since 42nd Street in Midtown is known as the 'mecca' for Manhattanhenge viewing, the crowds can build quickly, the astronomer said.
'The whole street can get shut down with people just taking it over,' Faherty said. 'You have to be in the middle of the street to see the phenomenon, and there's this other pesky thing in the middle of the street, which is cars – you have to get away from the cars.'
Midtown Manhattan may not just be the best spot to view a 'henge' in the city but perhaps the world — as New York City's unique grid allows for ideally framed, famously unobstructed views of the sun, Faherty said.
'There might be a street or two or three streets [in other cities] that you can recommend' for henge viewing, 'but we have the whole grid: as long as you can see towards New Jersey, you can catch Manhattanhenge,' she said.
Aside from stellar sunset views, New Yorkers will have plenty of other astronomical sights on deck this season, too — in the form of meteor showers.
The Eta Aquariids sky show will be peaking May 5 and 6, the Eta Lyrids on May 8 and the Perseids in August, the latter of which will be 'the one to look forward to,' Faherty said.
But the expert contends the 'star' of the show is still Manhattanhenge – which the museum will be paying tribute to at a public viewing event in July.
'Manhattanhenge really brings the city together,' she said. 'It's a very unifying event.'