In his iconic painting, Lane of Poplars at Sunset, famed Dutch master Vincent van Gogh depicted the glowing orange disc of the setting sun low on the horizon, centered on a long, straight lane flanked on each side by a row of skeletal poplar trees nearly bare of leaves.
It is a scene strikingly similar to New York’s “Manhattanhenge,” where the setting sun aligns with Manhattan’s numbered streets on dates near May 29 and July 12 annually. Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson drew attention to the phenomenon in 2001 and it has remained a popular event ever since.
Those similarities caught the attention of Texas State University astronomer, physics professor emeritus and Texas State University System Regents’ Professor Donald Olson, who suspected astronomy could determine when and where van Gogh painted this striking scene more than 130 years prior. Utilizing his distinctive brand of celestial sleuthing, Olson had previously dated three of van Gogh’s famous paintings: Moonrise (Wheat Stacks), Road with Cypress and Star and White House at Night using similar methods.
