Stone Henge. The Pyramids of Giza. The Paris end of Collins Street.
Archaeologists believe these iconic destinations were designed to correlate with specific astronomical events, in honour of the grand majesty of the universe itself.
Well, the last one, not so much. But the fact Melbourne’s grid-like layout sometimes aligns with the sunset is pretty bloody nifty, as evidenced by the flock of photographers that descended on the city centre last night to capture the event known as Melbhenge.
Scores of snap-happy sun-worshippers met at landmarks on the eastern side of town to watch the sun descend at an angle of 250 degrees west, perfectly in line with the city’s east-west oriented streets and towering skyscrapers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be5YuJiFsqX/?tagged=melbhenge
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4_rbGFNyy/?taken-at=1008488908
While that blazing ball of gas was partly obscured by another uncontrollable atmospheric phenomena – goddamn clouds – folks managed to capture some pretty lovely shots of the sun setting between buildings.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be5ODx6h1h8/?tagged=melbhenge
Great shot of the #melbhenge sunset, taken from the steps of State Parliament by @9NewsMelb cameraman @pantha82 pic.twitter.com/tqg9Ll61Vu
— Tom Kelly (@tpwkelly) February 7, 2018
The next edition of the sunset aligning with Robert Hoddle’s handy-dandy grid system will occur in 2019.
