'Manhattanhenge' Lights New York City For The Last Time This Year

"Manhattanhenge" will make its final 2015 appearance on Monday night along the streets of New York. Four times every year, the grid of New York City's streets aligns perfectly with the sunset, leading to the awesome -- and awesomely Instagramable -- phenomenon called "Manhattanhenge."

"Manhattanhenge" was named by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is the director for the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.  He gave the phenomenon that name in reference to Stonehenge, whose ancient stones line up perfectly with the sun on the summer Solstice. Tyson explains that this alignment happens in every city that has a rectangular street grid, but it creates a particularly spectacular view in New York where there's a clear view of the horizon looking over the Hudson River to New Jersey along with tall buildings to help frame the scene.

Join us @AMNH tonight for the final night of #Manhattanhenge 2015! Program begins at 7 pm: https://t.co/l1la3Nr2Nu pic.twitter.com/21wq9QN0i7

— AMNH (@AMNH) July 13, 2015

The phenomenon has already occurred three times this year, on May 29 and 30 and on July 12. The final "Manhattanhenge" is set to occur on July 13 at 8:20 pm. The May 29 occurrence was marred by clouds, but subsequent nights have seen stunning images. Each year, two of the days correspond to half of the sun fitting the street grid, while the other two see the full sun fitting on the grid. Tyson prefers the half sun nights for the most dramatic pictures.

Tourists and New Yorkers alike swamp the streets to snap the sweetest pictures of "Manhattanhenge" each time it occurs. As Tyson advised, the best vantage points are on major east-west streets in the city, such as 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd and 57th. He also advises to position yourself as far east as possible on Manhattan while still keeping New Jersey in sight to the west. Just before the sunset on Monday, astrophysicist Jackie Faherty will be speaking at the Hayden Planetarium. Photographers have offered plenty of advice on ways to get that "perfect" photograph, but don't let the lack of a big camera stop you from recording the event.  If your phone camera is what you have then use your phone camera but don't miss capturing the moment.