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David Furst: Welcome back to the Brian Lehrer Show here on WNYC. I'm David Furst, WNYC's Weekend Edition host, filling in for Brian today. We wrap up this summer Friday show with a look at an astronomical event coming to our area later tonight. Have you heard of Manhattanhenge? It is the moment when you're in New York City on a summer evening, and the sun is setting at just the right angle and suddenly it kisses the grid.
Joining us to explain more and to give us the scoop on all things Manhattanhenge is Jackie Faherty, the astronomer and educator at the American Museum of Natural History. Tonight she's hosting a lecture and a block party that I believe is happening, rain or shine, at the museum in honor of the phenomenon. Welcome.
Jackie Faherty: I am so excited to be here, and it is rain or shine.
David Furst: [laughs]
Jackie Faherty: I hope it doesn't rain. I'm hoping for the shine.
David Furst: We're hoping for the shine. Tell us exactly what is Manhattanhenge. Can you give us the astronomical explanation for this event?
Jackie Faherty: Yes. Most people have watched a sunset in their lives at some point, but everybody's busy and so you're not necessarily watching it every single day. Something you may not have appreciated or noticed is that the sun, when it sets every day, it's actually at a different point on your horizon. It moves north and south like a ping pong, when it's rising in the east and setting in the west. Now, that's because the earth is tilted by 23 1/2 degrees, relative to how it's moving around the sun.
That's the big science part. Throughout the year, the sun will be in a different position. On the days of Manhattanhenge, it's a nice coincidence the way the shape of Manhattan is that we have a bullseye grid for the sun to line up with. It does that twice a year perfectly, right around May 28th, and then it gets a little higher, a little higher, a little higher, and so it misses setting through the grid until the summer solstice where it gets as high as it's going to be in the sky, and then it reverses along your horizon.
Then July 12th for us this year, it hits the bullseye once again lining up perfectly with the grid of Manhattan. Then it starts setting further and further south and we don't get to see it between our buildings again until next year. Bullseye moment for the sun.
David Furst: Today is a full Manhattanhenge. That means you get to see the full sun on the horizon through the grid at sunset time. Right?
Jackie Faherty: Yes.
David Furst: Tomorrow, there's something called a half Manhattanhenge. Is that correct? A half sun on the horizon?
Jackie Faherty: Right. The sun's pretty big, [chuckles] even visually in your sky, about a half a degree. Because of that, Neil deGrasse Tyson, who's actually the one that coined the term and really got the initial excitement of people around this before it just took off on a life of its own and became viral, made the decision that there are two different beautiful looks when the very bottom of the sun kisses the grid. Then a day later, or a day before, depending if you're on either side of the summer solstice, the midpoint of the sun kisses the grid before it goes under.
That's why we report both full sun and half sun. They're both beautiful sunsets, but we do give you that option. There's another day in case it's raining.
David Furst: That's good to know. What makes for an ideal Manhattanhenge viewing spot? Should we be on one end of the city as opposed to the other? Should we be closer to the Hudson on the west side or further away from the setting sun, near the East River so you can see much more of the city blocks?
Jackie Faherty: Yes, you've got that right. A lot of people are like, "I need to get closer to the sun." The sun is 93 million miles away from you.
David Furst: [laughts]
Jackie Faherty: You cannot get yourself closer to it. [laughter] The whole point of this, is that you want to see it with all of the buildings in the city framing the sun. I often tell people to find their favorite building and then make sure you have a clear view across the sunset because the buildings are really what's going to frame it. The street that's become the mecca, the absolute mecca-
David Furst: Oh boy.
Jackie Faherty: -for Manhattanhenge, yes. I'll tell you, I've told so many reporters, I can't go anymore because it's so many people go--
David Furst: This is just between you and me.
Jackie Faherty: Sure, and all of the audience who I love, because I listen to this show every day, so I know what's happening here. [laughs] It's 42nd street and it's the view at Tudor City. It's an overpass because, here's the dirty secret of Manhattanhenge, you have to be in the middle of the street, which means there's a lot of cars, there's a lot of traffic.
Now that it's become viral, a lot of people will self-shut down a street, but at least on 42nd Street, you're up high at Tudor City and you can be in the middle of the street safely without any issues. We have a block closure at the American Museum of Natural History today if people want to come. 79th Street is where I'll be watching from after I give people a full immersive talk on the phenomenon and the history. That will be super fun, but we're going to watch from 79th Street tonight.
David Furst: Above all, absolutely be safe. Don't stand at the middle of a busy street stopping traffic on your own, trying to get the perfect photo. Just like we ask about the safety during an eclipse, do we have to worry about harming our vision while viewing Manhattanhenge?
Jackie Faherty: No. Great question. The sun, when it's setting, is very low on your horizon. Many people have watched a sunset before and have not had to deal with what we deal with during an eclipse. The sun is much higher in the sky, or it has been in 2017, and then again in 2024 when we had the eclipse that passed over the US.
When you're looking at the sun on the horizon, you're actually staring through a lot of earth's atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere ends up being a protective blanket for your eyes, so you don't have to worry at sunset, like you do when the sun is higher in the sky, about all this harmful radiation and bright light getting to your eye and causing problems. It is actually on the safe side to look at a sunset, which many people know because you've looked at-- I'm sure you've looked at a sunset. Haven't you [crosstalk]--
David Furst: I have. Yes, I have. Yes.
Jackie Faherty: They're beautiful. Sunsets are, I think, one of the unappreciated, easy astronomical things to do with yourself.
David Furst: Absolutely beautiful. Now, unfortunately, the sun has set on today's show. We're going to have to leave it there. Our guest, Jackie Faherty, astronomer and educator at the American Museum of Natural History. Very briefly, Jackie, thank you so much for joining us. Do listeners need to get tickets for tonight's event?
Jackie Faherty: Yes. There's still tickets available for the talk, which honestly, I'm going to make it awesome. Trust me, if you're not going to get to see it, this is the next, next best thing. Come, come to see this. It's 3D, it's immersive, it's awesome. Otherwise, there's going to be a salsa band that's going to be playing, and that part is free. If you want to come for that you can just come to the museum.
David Furst: We're going to have to wrap it up there. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm David Furst. This has been the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Have a great weekend everybody. Thank you for listening and stay tuned for All Of It.
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