Bhubaneswar witnesses Zero Shadow Day, Cuttack’s turn tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Capital on Sunday witnessed ‘Zero Shadow’, a rare celestial phenomenon during which no shadow of an object is observed. Elaborate arrangements were made at Pathani Samanta Planetarium for the event at 11:43 am and it continued for a brief period of about three minutes.

This phenomenon occurs twice a year when the sun is at its highest point in the sky at all the regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This leads to the Sun rays falling perpendicular to the Earth’s surface. With sun exactly overhead, no being or object cast a shadow, resulting in Zero Shadow Day.

According to Subhendu Patnaik, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar, the event takes place when the rotation axis of the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the axis of revolution around the sun. Cuttack will experience the celestial event on Monday.