New York City "Stonehenge"

Winter to New York to see the Sunrise

Beijing News weekly of the new knowledge

Each year winter 5 December morning, when the Sun is rising to Manhattan East, you will be surprised to find behind a long shadow in the intersection of exactly and double yellow lines are parallel.

On this day, the Sun is on the East-West Street in Manhattan. This is easy to think of England Wiltshire's Stonehenge. Local summer solstice day's Sunrise faces across the ancient ruins of the main channel. Similar sites are also appear in other parts of the world. For example, Bolivia's Sun Gate, at the autumnal Equinox on this day, the rising sun is on the midline of the Sun Gate, door accordingly.

New York Sunrise wonders whether there are any astronomical or calendar significance or let us take a look at the layout of the streets in Manhattan.

Manhattan since more than rendering in city almost strict checkerboard street layout.

East-West called Street (Street), from South to North from No. 1 Street series to 220 Street. North-South that Avenue (Avenue), from East to West from No. 1 road series to the first 12 Avenue, which also has a small number of non-inclusion in digital named road. However, the so-called West Street and the actual things, in fact, there is between the two angle in favor of the "East-West direction.

Manhattan is considered a checkerboard street layout is the most famous and most successful application.

In this layout, from any location to another location, you only need to turn on the theory of one to two times. This layout in other ancient civilizations have appeared. In today's Beijing, we still feel the horizontal even vertical street layout is convenient. Compared with Manhattan, Beijing's checkerboard layout looks not so regular. When the "huangbiao car" are prohibited from entering Beijing wuhuan container when the container is at peak hours and traveling in a more narrow streets in Manhattan.

1811 year planning programme (left) and today's Manhattan map (right)

Manhattan streets are mostly straight stretch out.

In a special day, the Sun along the street running through the whole island has become a kind of "wonders." In addition to the December 5, 8 January Sunrise also parallel to the street and stuff. These two days in the time of the day happens to be the winter solstice. 28 and 12 July, the setting sun will run through the streets of Manhattan's East-West. These two days of the day happens to be the summer solstice. If you don't have the opportunity at this time to New York, and you can look at the drama "CSI: NY". Season 9 centralized key clues precisely 5 December along the East-West Street rising sun.

This kind of "wonder" why? why it will be two "to have some sort of mysterious," contact? for a fixed region, the azimuth of the Sun throughout the year and constantly changing.

New York is located in the northern hemisphere, the Sun's direction is only two days at the vernal equinox is the East, while in the summer solstice, the most northerly, the winter solstice, the most southerly, and in the year in both directions between reciprocating cycle of one week. For any of the street, as long as it's direction is located in the local solstices Sunrise orientation angle, so the year will have twice the sun rises on the street. The sunset is similar.

Therefore, Manhattan and the East-West streets parallel to the phenomenon of the Sun, and no astronomical or special significance on the calendar, is a common phenomenon.

In 2002, the United States Museum of natural history in Astrophysics home Tyson (NeilTyson) will be the title sponsor for the "Manhattanhenge" (Manhattan Stonehenge). If one day the human civilization left Manhattan, but here are Skyscraping buildings have been preserved, while another group of civilization biological presence here, in the face of each of the four degrees across the whole island of the Sun, they will be named "Stonehenge" Manhattan?

□ Valley (science writer now lives in New York)