It does not happen often, but Thursday evening Manhattan's streets will line up perfectly with the sunset in a magnificent display known as "Manhattanhenge." 

A few times every year, the sun aligns with New York City's grid-like streets and projects direct, unrestricted sunlight onto the city's streets. The event is called Manhattanhenge because it mimics a similar phenomenon that happens in Stonehenge. According to physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who heads the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, the event will happen between Memorial Day and baseball's All Star break.

DeGrasse Tyson joked that in the future, when people discover the remains of Manhattan they "might conclude that, via the Sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshiped War and Baseball."

To achieve the best view, deGrasse Tyson recommends going far east but notes you can still have an uninterrupted view in New Jersey. The best streets are 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th as well as other streets adjacent to them.

"Unnoticed by many, the sunset point actually creeps day to day along the horizon: northward until the first day of summer, then returning southward until the first day of winter. In spite of what pop-culture tells you, the Sun rises due east and sets due west only twice per year," wrote deGrasse Tyson.

"On the equinoxes: the first day of spring and of autumn. Every other day, the Sun rises and sets elsewhere on the horizon. Had Manhattan's grid been perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line, then the days of Manhattanhenge would coincide with the equinoxes. But Manhattan's street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar."

According to NBC News, anyone wanting to see the event should arrive early since the Department of Transportation will not be closing any streets for the event and photographers and others will fill the streets taking pictures and sharing the moment.

DeGrasse Tyson adds that the half sun will be seen tonight and also July 12 and a full sun will be seen May 30 and July 11.