When is Chicagohenge and Manhattanhenge? 2026–2027 dates

Chicagohenge is the sunset lined up with Chicago’s east–west streets; Manhattanhenge, the same sight down Manhattan’s cross streets. Each comes twice a year and lasts several evenings. When are they next?

Asked on 18 September 2026, the Sun and Moon alignment planner gives Chicagohenge on 19–23 September 2026, between 18:38 and 18:44 Chicago time. The next window is 19–23 March 2027.

Manhattanhenge follows on 25 May–8 June and 3–17 July 2027, between 20:08 and 20:23 New York time. The Sun crosses the street right on the horizon on 22 September 2026 in Chicago, and on 28 May and 14 July 2027 in Manhattan. Miss the September evenings and Chicago’s next chance is six months away.

What do I enter to get the Chicagohenge or Manhattanhenge dates?

A preset, then one setting. Under “Start from”, “Chicagohenge (sunset)” fills in Chicago and a bearing of 270°, due west; “Manhattanhenge (sunset)” fills in New York and 299°. Set How low to “Grazing the horizon (2° or under)”, then press “Find the alignments”.

Those bearings are the streets’ own directions. Chicago’s grid follows the cardinal directions, while Manhattan’s is rotated 29° clockwise, so its cross streets point at 299°, as Wikipedia’s Manhattanhenge article explains.

How do I read the dates the planner returns?

Take the windows from “When it lines up”, then pick the evening in “Every pass kept”. Each pass gives a date, the time the Sun crosses the bearing, and its Height above a flat horizon at that minute.

The pass whose Height is closest to 0° is the evening the Sun sits on the horizon at the end of the street. A small negative height still leaves part of the Sun showing: passes are kept down to about −0.8°, the height the golden hour calculator gives for sunset.

The large number at the top counts every day the Sun crosses the bearing, at any height. For Chicago it is 189 over the twelve months, of which ten are kept at 2°.

Why does How low change the Manhattanhenge answer?

Because at 299° the Sun crosses no higher than 2.7° in the twelve months ahead, so the default setting keeps every crossing. With “Low, golden light (6° or under)”, the planner returned one window, 25 May to 17 July 2027 (54 days). “Grazing the horizon” splits it into the two windows known as Manhattanhenge.

In Chicago the default widens each window instead, to 19–30 March 2027 rather than 19–23. The planner covers the twelve months from the day you ask, so a window already under way starts on that day.

How do I find the dates for my own street?

Give the planner the street’s bearing, or the place it points at. Bearing you are aiming at takes degrees clockwise from north: 0 north, 90 east, 180 south, 270 west. Read it off a map along the street, towards the sunset end for an evening.

Or name a landmark at the far end in “Or the place the axis points at” and leave the bearing empty. From Chicago towards Oak Park, the answer opened with “From here to Oak Park, US: bearing 273.5° (west), 12.8 km away”.

Take the bearing with care: Oak Park’s 273.5°, 3.5° north of Chicago’s streets, moved the spring window from 19–23 March to 26–29 March 2027. A street that never lines up gets “Never that low in that direction”, with the heights at which the Sun does cross it, if it ever does.

What does the planner not know about my street?

Its skyline and its weather. The planner assumes a flat horizon, so buildings or a hill at the end of the street hide the Sun before its height reaches 0°. The tool’s page suggests checking the skyline yourself, or asking for a slightly higher elevation to compensate.

Questions

Is there a sunrise Chicagohenge or Manhattanhenge?

Yes, down the same streets the other way. With “Grazing the horizon”, Chicagohenge (sunrise), at 90°, returned 20–23 September 2026 and 19–23 March 2027. Manhattanhenge (sunrise), at 119°, returned 22 November–2 December 2026 and 9–19 January 2027.

Can I see Manhattanhenge with a full Moon?

Yes, in the morning, with the Moon low in the west-northwest. With Body set to Moon and “Full moon only” ticked, 299° from New York returned five single mornings. One is 24 November 2026 at 06:33, with the Moon 100% lit and 4.1° high.

Can I get a reminder for the dates?

Yes. “Add to my calendar” downloads every pass kept as a calendar file, and “Subscribe (updates itself)” keeps it recomputed. Each pass also has a card to share.

Sources and further reading

• Manhattanhenge — the 29° rotation of Manhattan’s grid, its 299° sunset bearing, and Chicago’s grid on the cardinal directions.
• NOAA Solar Position Calculator — the Sun’s azimuth and elevation for any place and time, to check a pass independently.