Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 51

CHICAGOHENGE: TIM HARA; JUPITER: JOHN BOUDREAU
Aligning
With the
Equinox
SPRING BEGINS on March 20th at
11:33 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. On
that date, day and night will be of
roughly equal length across the planet,
and the Sun will rise due east and set
due west. These and other seasonally
significant astronomical markers, such
as the winter and summer solstices,
were crucially important to our distant
ancestors, who used the repeating
motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars to
measure the passage of time. These skywatchers
created numerous megalithic
" observatories " that aligned with the
Sun and possibly other celestial bodies
at the equinoxes and solstices.
One of the most famous of these
structures is Stonehenge, which was
built in stages over hundreds of years
beginning around 3000 BC. Key features
appear to line up with the direction of
sunrise at the summer solstice and sunset
at the winter solstice. Other examples,
such as the El Castillo pyramid at
Chichén Itzá in Mexico's Yucatán, align
with the equinoxes. For a few minutes
on and around these dates the Sun
casts a shadow in the shape of a serpent
along a staircase that joins a snake-head
sculpture at the pyramid's base.
I wonder what the creators of these
monuments would think of our modern
cities, where the streets are commonly
laid out along an east-west/north-south
grid. Of the world's largest cities, Chicago,
Illinois, is said to come closest to
the perfect grid: From space it resembles
an electronic circuit board. Cognizant
of the city's rich symmetries, people
have begun celebrating Chicagohenge at
the spring and fall equinoxes in recent
years. They gather on streets and watch
the Sun rise or set at the bottom of deep
skyscraper canyons. Some of the best
viewing spots are between Kinzie and
Madison streets in the heart of downtown.
Not to be outdone, there's also a
pThe Sun sets on West Adams Street in downtown Chicago on March 12, 2020. For several
days around the equinoxes, the Sun rises nearly due east and sets nearly due west along the
city's east-west grid of streets.
Manhattenhenge and Phillyhenge.
Does your town have streets aligned
on an east-west axis? If so, maybe it's
time to consider creating your own
equinoctial henge with the help of your
local astronomy club. These alignments
still have a grip on the human imagination.
Given the chance, most people are
eager to make a celestial connection
just as our distant ancestors did.
Action at Jupiter
Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun on March 5th and essentially out of view all
month. As a result, our regular tables showing the transit times of the Great Red Spot
and Jovian satellite events aren't presented in this issue. They will return (along with
Jupiter) next month.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * MARCH 2022 51

http://skyandtelescope.org

Sky & Telescope - March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - March 2022

Contents
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 1
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 3
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 4
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 5
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 6
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 7
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 8
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 9
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 10
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 11
Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 12
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Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - Cover4
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