Where and how to see the sunset align with Manhattan’s street grid

Vocabulary

Alignment – n., to place or arrange in a straight line
Solstice – n., either of the two times in the year when the sun is furthest from the celestial equator, occurring in June and December.
Celestial – adj., of or having to do with the sky or outer space.
Grid – n., parallel horizontal and vertical lines that cross each other to form squares of equal size.
Anthropologist – n, someone who studies people and their cultures
Presume – v., to take for granted; assume.
Radiant –  adj., sending out heat or rays of light; shining brightly

Sunset looking down 34th Street. One of two days when the sunset is exactly aligned with the grid of streets in Manhattan.

Copyright © 2001, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Manhattanhenge

What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England. For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signaling the change of season.

For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year, 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. These two days happen to correspond with Memorial Day and Baseball’s All Star break. Future anthropologists might conclude that, via the Sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshiped War and Baseball.

For these two days, as the Sun sets on the grid, half the disk sits above and half below the horizon. My personal preference for photographs. But the day after also offers Manhattanhenge moments, but at sunset, you instead will find the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon.

Where to See Manhattanhenge

View the sunset from Manhattan’s main east/west thoroughfares:

• 14th Street
• 23rd Street
• 34th Street
• 42nd Street
• 57th Street

Find a spot as far east as possible that still has views of New Jersey across the Hudson River.

The sunset can also be viewed from these locations:

• Tudor City Overpass, Manhattan
• Hunter’s Point South Park in Long Island City, Queens

Manhattanhenge 2024 Times

Between May 30-July 11, the “Manhattanhenge Effect” occurs, where the Sun appears between the grid of the city as it’s low in the sky and setting.

Full Sun on the Grid

Friday, July 12, at 8:20 pm ET

Full sun on the grid during Manhattanhenge.

Half Sun on the Grid

Saturday, July 13 at 8:21 pm ET

Half sun on the grid during Manhattanhenge.

Manhattanhenge may just be a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe.

FUN FACT:

While we are on the subject, when viewed from all latitudes north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude), the Sun always rises at an angle up and to the right, and sets at an angle down and to the right. That’s how you can spot a faked sunrise in a movie: it moves up and to the left. Filmmakers are not typically awake in the morning hours to film an actual sunrise, so they film a sunset instead, and then time-reverse it, thinking nobody will notice.

Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson, https://www.amnh.org/research/hayden-planetarium/manhattanhenge

It’s so handy to have a couple 15-minute recipes up your sleeve for speedy midweek dinners. This dish has a spicy kick, with garlicky greens, crunchy golden chickpeas and a fresh zing from the lemon zest.

VOCABULARY –

handy (to come in handy) – to turn out to be useful when needed

a couple – two or more, but not many

to have something up your sleeve – to have an idea or plan that you have not told anyone about

to give it a kick – something that creates excitement – “The dish has a spicy kick.”

a zing – to make something interesting or exciting

lemon zest – the outermost layer of the lemon peel

Ingredients:

• 2 servings of orecchiette (about 150g / 5.3 ounces)
• 1 pack of broccolini
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 red chili finely chopped
• 1 can of chickpeas drained
• 1 lemon zested
• a pinch of flaky sea salt & black pepper

Instructions:

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 8–10 minutes. Drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water.

1. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a frying pan set over medium heat; add the garlic and chilli and cook for 2–3 minutes until just golden.

1. Pour in the chickpeas and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring every now and again, until fragrant and golden. Keep a careful eye on the garlic as it will taste bitter if it burns.

1. Add the cooked pasta and broccolini to the frying pan, along with a splash of the cooking water (about 3–4 tablespoons); stir to combine. Season to taste with salt.

1. To serve, divide the pasta between bowls, then add lemon zest and plenty of black pepper.

Source – https://www.deliciouslyella.com/en-us/recipes/garlic-chickpea-chilli-orecchiette/

VOCABULARY –

researchers – someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information

history – the study of past events, particularly in human affair

human beings – people

expert – a person who has a great deal of knowledge of or skill in a particular area

brain – an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull

evolution – the gradual development of something

Read the Article –

Researchers may have found the time in history when human beings first spoke. An expert in prehistory believes that basic language started 1.6 million years ago. This is eight times earlier than scientists thought. Experts previously believed that spoken human language began 200,000 years ago. Studies show that the first human language developed in eastern or southern Africa. He said the ability to speak helped evolution. The expert said speech was, “without doubt, the key which made much of…human physical and cultural evolution possible”.

The expert wrote about how human speech developed in his new book called, “The Language Puzzle”. He says our brain increased in size over 1.5 million years ago. This changed the structure of our brain. An area developed that produced language. Another important change was the development of tissue that could make sounds, and therefore speech. This allowed humans to move all over the world. It meant humans could think of and plan future actions, and they could pass on knowledge. The expert said language changed the human story enormously.

SYNONYM MATCH – Match the Synonyms

Source – https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2403/240321-human-speech.html

This Chinese chicken noodle soup is an easy traditional noodle soup you can make any day of the week. 

VOCABULARY –

slices – thin, broad pieces of food, such as bread, meat, or cake, cut from a larger portion.

pat – touch quickly and gently with the flat of the hand.

simmer – stay just below the boiling point while being heated.

Leafy greens – plants with leaves you can eat.

tablespoon –  a unit of measure used in cooking

handful – as much or as many as your hand will hold

INGREDIENTS

• ▢1.5 pounds chicken leg quarters(about 2 leg quarters)
• ▢2 tablespoons oil
• ▢1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• ▢5 cups water
• ▢2-3 slices ginger (about ⅛-inch/0.3cm thick, 2 inches/5cm long)
• ▢1 scallion
• ▢salt (to taste)
• ▢white pepper powder (to taste)
• ▢8 ounces fresh thin wheat noodles (of your choice; or 3.5 ounces/100g dried noodles)
• ▢1 large handful leafy greens (such as baby bok choy, choy sum, spinach, or even romaine lettuce)
• ▢chili oil (to garnish, optional)

INSTRUCTIONS –

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Preheat a thick-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the oil, and then add the chicken legs skin-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes.

Add Shaoxing wine, water, ginger slices, and a whole scallion. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to the medium-low, and simmer (covered tightly) for 40 minutes.

Boil water in a separate pot. Remove the chicken leg quarters from the soup pot, and let cool for a few minutes. Add salt and white pepper powder to the soup to taste. Cover and keep warm on the stove. Shred the chicken into large strips with a fork.

By now, your water should be boiling. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. In the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooking, add the leafy greens, and cook along with the noodles.

Divide the noodles and greens among 2-3 bowls, and ladle the soup broth on top. Top with the shredded chicken and chili oil (if desired). Serve! 

Source: https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-chicken-noodle-soup/

VOCABULARY –

record-breaker – someone or something that beats the previous best result in a sport or other activity

scales – An instrument used for weighing

smoothie – a thick, smooth drink made from fruit

Guinness World Records – a reference book published every year that lists world records of human achievements

READ THE ARTICLE –

A farmer in Australia has broken the record for growing the world’s biggest blueberry. The giant berry weighed 20.4 grams. This smashed the previous record of 16.2 grams. The record-breaker was as wide as a ping pong ball. It was 39.31 millimeters (1.57 inches) in diameter. It was 10 times heavier than a regular blueberry. The farmer said he was overjoyed to be verified by Guinness World Records.

He added: “While the fruit is large, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or flavor.” At first, he was unsure if he had broken the record. He said he had to check the weighing scales to make sure. When asked what he would do with his prize berry, he said he might use it in a smoothie.

SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. giant	a. champion
2. smashed	b. very happy
3. quality	c. table tennis
4. ping pong	d. taste
5. overjoyed	e. very big
6. prize-winning	f. crushed
6. flavor	g. condition

Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2403/240318-giant-blueberry.html

Where is the possessive noun and possessive pronoun in this sentence. Can you find them? I can’t find my mom’s keys.

Let’s take a quick look at some types of words –

Nouns – people, places, things, or ideas (doctor, classroom, car, liberty)

Adjectives – adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. (serious doctor, quiet classroom, fast car)

Nouns have what are called cases. The case of a noun tells us more about what the noun is doing in the sentence. In English, the main noun cases are nominative, objective, and possessive.

Nouns in the possessive case show ownership. They don’t perform any of the noun jobs. So, what do they do? Let’s have a look – mom’s keys, student’s books, school’s classrooms – The keys belong to the mom. The books belong to the student. The classrooms belong to the school. These all show possession. Let’s look at an example – I can’t find Mom’s keys. Mom’s is a possessive noun. It’s telling us whose keys we are talking about.

What job is Mom’s performing in the sentence? It’s functioning as an adjective modifying the noun keys. It’s functioning as an adjective!

We even diagram these nouns as adjectives. They go under the noun that they are modifying.

Now we know what job possessive nouns perform. Do you remember what they do? They perform the job of an adjective.

However, there’s something we need to think about – adjectives modify nouns. They don’t modify adjectives. That means that we would not have an adjective modifying another adjective. So, can possessive nouns be modified by adjectives? Let’s find out. Look at this sentence and focus on the word my – I can’t find my mom’s keys! – What is my modifying? Where should we put it in the sentence diagram?

My is a possessive pronoun, which functions as an adjective, but it doesn’t seem to be modifying the noun keys. They are not my keys. They are are my mom’s keys. My seems to be modifying mom’s, and mom’s is functioning as an adjective. But didn’t we say adjectives don’t modify other adjectives? What’s going on here?

Possessive nouns can be modified by adjectives. Even though they function as adjectives, they maintain some of their “noun-ness” and can still be modified by adjectives, just like nouns in the nominative and objective cases.

Normally, we would only diagram an adverb underneath an adjective since adjectives are modified by adverbs. Because of that, you might need to look twice at this to remember that my is actually an adjective modifying a possessive noun… which is functioning as an adjective. 🙂

Source: https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/possessive-nouns.html

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