March 20, 2018
Consider this: the iron in your blood was forged in a supernova explosion billions of years ago.
Chicagohenge: Equinox in an Aligned City
Birthday · March 20, 2018
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APOD published March 20, 2018. Credit: Anthony Artese. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Sometimes, in a way, Chicago 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 last 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.
Image credit: Anthony Artese