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The Spring Equinox is Here, and That Means Another Chance to View ‘Chicagohenge’
The Spring Equinox is Here, and That Means Another Chance to View ‘Chicagohenge’-July 2024
Jul 30, 2025 10:24 PM

“Chicagohenge” during the fall 2020 equinox. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)“Chicagohenge” during the fall 2020 equinox. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

There haven’t been many events to miss out on in the past year, but iflast fall’s “Chicagohenge”phenomenon passed you by, here’s your chance at redemption.

Chicagohenge — an effect produced when the sun rises due east and sets due west — happens twice a year, coinciding with the spring and fall equinox. The spring equinox, when the sun is directly over the equator, occurs at 4:37 a.m. Saturday.

Because Chicago is laid out in a grid, the city’s east-west streets perfectly frame the equinox sunrise and sunset, an image photographers of all stripes are keen to capture.

According to theAdler Planetarium, the best time to view Chicagohenge is during sunrise or sunset (roughly slightly before 7 a.m. or slightly after 7 p.m.) Saturday through Tuesday. Any east-west street will do, but avenues lined with tall buildings will create more dramatic results.

But don’t dally. Another quirk of the equinox is that it sees thefastest sunsetsof the year, in terms of the amount of time it takes for the orb to sink below the horizon. Chicagohenge will last for just a couple of minutes in the evening.

Don’t worry if you miss it. There’s always September.

Contact Patty Wetli:@pattywetli| (773) 509-5623 |[email protected]

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