Spirited boroughites flocked to Grand Army Plaza to view an astronomical wonder as it crossed the skies – at exactly 6:23 p.m.
Urban shaman Donna Henes led the flock of sky-gazers in a drumming circle and chanting to ceremoniously usher in the autumnal equinox.
Henes, who owns a ceremonial center and spirit shop in Park Slope and is affectionately known in her “exotic Brooklyn” as Mama Donna, administered the rites to mark the precise moment when the sun crossed the earth’s equator.
Due to its axial tilt, the earth’s northern hemisphere curves towards the sun for half of the year – from the middle of March to mid-September – and towards the southern hemisphere for the remainder.
The spring and autumnal equinoxes occur when the sun is directly overhead at the equator, making the day and the night 12 hours long each.
