Solstice Alignments Spotted in Washington, D.C., Garden

TURIN, ITALY—The statues and walkways in a symmetrical nineteenth-century garden in Washington D.C. are aligned to the rising and setting sun on the summer and winter solstices, according to physicist Amelia Sparavigna of Politecnico di Torino. Live Science reports that, using satellite imagery and astronomical software, Sparavigna found that the solstice sun aligns with the statue of President Andrew Jackson that stands in the center of the Lafayette Square garden. Four walkways radiate out from this statue. Standing near the statue of Andrew Jackson, it would appear that on the summer solstice, the sun rises at the northeast end of one path, and sets at the northwest end of the opposite path. On the winter solstice, the sun would appear to rise at the southeast end of another path and set at the southwest end of its opposite. Sparavigna says it is unclear why designer Andrew Jackson Downing aligned the ends of the walkways to the solstice sun.