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Science|Manhattanhenge Is Back for 2025: When, Where and How to Watch
https://www.nytimes.com/article/manhattanhenge-2025-time-how-to-watch.html
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It is time once again to head to your nearest crosstown view for New York City’s best annual sunsets, if the weather cooperates.
May 28, 2025, 12:12 p.m. ET
New Yorkers, get ready for the latest solar spectacle.
Each year at the end of May, and again in mid-July, residents and tourists flood the streets of Manhattan for a spectacular view of the sun setting in the west, flanked by the city’s famous streetscapes. Nicknamed Manhattanhenge, the event attracts more people each year, some gathering in crowds so dense they block the streets.
“I think of it as astronomy in your face,” Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History who computes the dates for Manhattanhenge each year, said in an interview in 2024. “It’s like a huge science party that will occur in the city.”
The event’s popularity most likely goes beyond an interest in science, Dr. Faherty added: People love a good photo op, and Manhattanhenge delivers.
When is Manhattanhenge?
This year, Manhattanhenge’s first night occurs on Wednesday, May 28. More opportunities to see it will occur Thursday, May 29, then again on July 11 and 12.
According to the American Museum of Natural History, Manhattanhenge will reach its fullest effect at 8:13 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, and then again at 8:12 on Thursday.
If you miss it this week, or the weather gets in the way, it will be back on July 11 and 12.
The sunset will appear different on consecutive days. On May 28, the top half of the sun will align with the city grid, but the next day, the full sun will be visible. Later in the summer, this pattern reverses: Viewers will see a full sun on July 11, and the top half of the sun on July 12.
