Tonight is Manhattanhenge! (aka "Manhattan Solstice")
What is Manhattanhenge? According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, famed astrophysicist and also our neighbor who works at 79th Street's American Museum of Natural History, and also the man who invented the term Manhattanhenge, tonight's phenomenon is:
"when the setting sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan's brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid. A rare and beautiful sight."
We at Voilà Chocolat do enjoy a beautiful coucher du soleil, as the French call it. As luck would have it, our first store will open on 79th Street, one of those major east-west Manhattan streets that are so glowingly illuminated twice each summer.
So, run outside at around 8:15pm tonight and start looking to the west. One good viewing spot is at the end of our own street and in Mr. Tyson's backyard at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue, because the park that surrounds the museum allows you to stand mid-street without standing in traffic.
Here Mr. Tyson spoke engagingly about Manhattanhenge 2013:
See you in a couple of hours, and bring your camera!
