Twice a year the Sun sets between the skyscrapers of the east-west streets of Manhattan. People call this dramatic effect "Manhattanhenge" as the tall buildings are reminiscent of the stone uprights on Salisbury Plain in England.



If the Manhattan street grid were precisely aligned with the compass points, this effect would occur on the spring and autumn solstices, but it actually happens in January and July.

What is an equinox? Find out by reading about Why Planets Have Seasons.

Accuweather.com has a page of photos taken on July 12 of the Sun setting between tall buildings. Some of them are stunning. You can have a look at Manhattanhenge July 12, 2012.

I love those photos and the whole modern stonehenge. The people standing in the streets reminds me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.