                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 September 22
   A picture of the Sun setting at the end of a long city street is shown.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                  Chicagohenge: Equinox in an Aligned City
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Anthony Artese

   Explanation: Chicago, in a way, is like a modern Stonehenge. The way is
   east to west, and the time is today. Today, and every equinox, the Sun
   will set exactly to the west, everywhere on Earth. Therefore, today in
   Chicago, the Sun will set directly down the long equatorially-aligned
   grid of streets and buildings, an event dubbed #chicagohenge. Featured
   here is a Chicago Henge picture taken during the equinox in
   mid-September of 2017 looking along part of Upper Wacker Drive. Many
   cities, though, have streets or other features that are well-aligned to
   Earth's spin axis. Therefore, quite possibly, your favorite street may
   also run east - west. Tonight at sunset, with a quick glance, you can
   actually find out.

                    Tomorrow's picture: comet approaches
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

