Article content

Edmonton is in for a celestial treat.

Edmontonhenge.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Rare magic hour coming to Edmonton on spring equinox Back to video

Framed between concrete and steel, the setting sun will align with the city’s road grid, creating a perfect solar display and bathing the streets in a warm, orange glow.

“When the sun is very low in the sky, it casts a radiant glow of light that gives everything a very pleasing illumination,” Luca Vanzella, past president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Edmonton Centre, said recently.

“Photographers have coined the term ‘magic hour’ to describe the quality of light that lasts for about an hour before sunset and about an hour after sunrise. A rare and beautiful sight.”

Edmontonhenge happens in March around the spring equinox and in September around the autumnal equinox.

This month, he said the ideal date is March 21, when the sun will be one degree above the east horizon at 7:43 a.m. and above the west horizon at 7:40 p.m.

March 20 and 22 are also good dates to see the event, he said. Environment Canada promises sun on all three days.