The autumnal fall equinox will arrive at 7:44 a.m. on Sunday, September 22, officially indicating the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere along with the return of a phenomenon called Chicagohenge. The equinox follows the occurrence of this year’s Full Moon on Tuesday, September 17, known as the Harvest Moon.
According to the Adler Skywatch report for September by the Adler Planetarium, this year’s Harvest Moon is considered “unusual” for two reasons: it’s considered a supermoon by some experts since it will be closer to the Earth than normal, approximately 223,000 miles away, and it will be partially eclipsed.
The Chicagohenge occurs during the equinox due to the sun setting directly east and west on the equinoxes. Since Chicago’s downtown is built on a grid system, this is when the buildings on both sides of the city’s east-west running streets perfectly frame the rising and setting sun.
Chicagoans can view the Chicagohenge phenomenon best downtown in the Chicago Loop, as sunlight projects through the skyscrapers of the city. The view includes a picturesque scene of Chicago’s L train, which runs perpendicular to the buildings, below the sun.
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