NEW YORK (AP) — Twice a year, New Yorkers and visitors are treated to a phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge, when the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan street grid and sinks below the horizon framed in a canyon of skyscrapers.

The event is a favorite of photographers and often brings people out onto sidewalks on spring and summer evenings to watch this unique sunset.

The first Manhattanhenge of the year takes place Wednesday at 8:13 p.m., with a slight variation happening again Thursday at 8:12 p.m. It will occur again on July 11 and 12.

Some background on the phenomenon:

Where does the name Manhattanhenge come from?

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson coined the term in a 1997 article in the magazine Natural History. Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, said he was inspired by a visit to Stonehenge as a teenager.

The future host of TV shows such as PBS’ “Nova ScienceNow” was part of an expedition led by Gerald Hawkins, the scientist who first theorized that Stonehenge’s mysterious megaliths were an ancient astronomical observatory.

It struck Tyson, a native New Yorker, that the setting sun framed by Manhattan’s high-rises could be compared to the sun’s rays striking the center of the Stonehenge circle on the solstice.

Unlike the Neolithic Stonehenge builders, the planners who laid out Manhattan did not mean to channel the sun. It just worked out that way.

When is Manhattanhenge?

Manhattanhenge does not take place on the summer solstice itself, which is June 20 this year. Instead, it happens about three weeks before and after the solstice. That’s when the sun aligns itself perfectly with the Manhattan grid’s east-west streets.

Viewers get two different versions of the phenomenon to choose from.

On May 28 and July 12, half the sun will be above the horizon and half below it at the moment of alignment with Manhattan’s streets, according to the Hayden Planetarium.

On May 29 and July 11, the whole sun will appear to hover between buildings just before sinking into the New Jersey horizon across the Hudson River.

Where can you see Manhattanhenge?

The traditional viewing spots are along the city’s broad east-west thoroughfares: 14th Street, 23rd Street, 34th Street, 42nd Street and 57th Street.

The farther east you go, the more dramatic the vista as the sun’s rays hit building facades on either side. It is also possible to see Manhattanhenge across the East River in the Long Island City section of Queens.

Is Manhattanhenge an organized event?

Manhattanhenge viewing parties are not unknown, but it is mostly a DIY affair. People gather on east-west streets a half-hour or so before sunset and snap photo after photo as dusk approaches. That’s if the weather is fine. There’s no visible Manhattanhenge on rainy or cloudy days, and both are unfortunately in the forecast this week.

Do other cities have ‘henges’?

Similar effects occur in other cities with uniform street grids. Chicagohenge and Baltimorehenge happen when the setting sun lines up with the grid systems in those cities in March and September, around the spring and fall equinoxes. Torontohenge occurs in February and October.

But Manhattanhenge is particularly striking because of the height of the buildings and the unobstructed path to the Hudson.

Originally Published: May 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM EDT

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from Apaches who are fighting to halt a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona that they hold sacred.

The justices left in place lower court decisions allowing the transfer of the Tonto National Forest land, known as Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper, which plans to mine what it says is the second-largest known copper deposit in the world.

The Trump administration has said it will push to complete the transfer.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in dissent that it was a “grievous mistake” not to take up the appeal.

“Recognizing Oak Flat’s significance, the government has long protected both the land and the Apaches’ access to it,” Gorsuch wrote, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. “No more. Now, the government and a mining conglomerate want to turn Oak Flat into a massive hole in the ground.”

A group known as Apache Stronghold, representing the interests of certain members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, has argued that the land transfer will result in the destruction of the site in violation of its members’ religious rights.

Apache tribes in Arizona consider Oak Flat, which is dotted with ancient oak groves and traditional plants, essential to their spiritual well-being.

An estimated 40 billion pounds of copper could be mined over the lifetime of the mine, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The project has significant support in nearby Superior and other traditional mining towns in the area. The company estimates the mine will generate $1 billion a year for Arizona’s economy and create thousands of local jobs.

Resolution Copper is a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP.

Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the case, presumably because he owns between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of BHP stock, according to his most recent financial disclosure.

Congress approved a land swap in 2014 that would give Resolution Copper 3.75 square miles of forest land in return for eight parcels it owns in Arizona.

In the waning days of the first Trump administration, the U.S. Agriculture Department issued the required environmental review that would allow the land swap to proceed.

Apache Stronghold sued in federal court to block it. With the change in administrations to President Joe Biden, the Agriculture Department, which includes the Forest Service, pulled back the review to further consult with Native American tribes.

But the suit proceeded and a year ago, the federal appeals court in San Francisco split 6-5 to allow the land transfer to go forward, rejecting Apache Stronghold’s arguments about religious freedom and its invocation of a 1852 treaty between the U.S. government and the Apaches.

The five dissenting judges described the outcome as a tragic error that would result in “the utter destruction” of the sacred site.

The Forest Service already has provided the 60 days notice that it intends to re-issue the environmental review, as required by a court order.

Originally Published: May 27, 2025 at 10:10 AM EDT