Zero Shadow Day Experienced In Bhubaneswar: Here’s Why The Phenomenon Occured

by Suchismita Pal
Zero Shadow Day Experienced In Bhubaneswar: Here’s Why The Phenomenon Occured

Imagine you are walking on the road right under the afternoon sun dunked in the scorching heat. But suddenly you notice that your shadow is not falling on the streets. You look around and find that there are no shadows at all, of any objects on any surfaces. Would you be surprised? This actually happened in the capital of Odisha, Bhubaneswar, on May 21, 2021. The phenomenon started at around 11:43 AM and continued for nearly 3 minutes. Interesting right? Read on to know more.

There Were No Shadows For Around 3 Minutes

Bhubaneswar experienced the Zero Shadow Day on May 21 for around 3 minutes. Reportedly, it is a rare celestial phenomenon that happens only twice a year. On Zero Shadow Day, no shadows of living or non-living objects fall on any surfaces, even when the sun is at its highest point. Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Subhendu Patnaik,  told ANI on Friday, “Many people witnessed ‘zero shadow day’. It occurs twice a year when the sun is directly overhead. We experienced it today.”

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How Did The Phenomenon Occur?

The exceptional occurrence of zero shadow takes place when the sun moves towards the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn. According to Odisha TV, Patnaik said in a video conference, “We don’t need equipment to see the event but we can use a white paper and place it on a flat ground, keep some vertical object like a bottle on it and study the movement of its shadow.”

Zero Shadow Day Experienced Bhubaneswar
Picture Credits: Sambad English, Kalinga TV, @TazeenQureshy

“The phenomenon takes place as the rotation axis of the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the axis of revolution around the Sun. When the location of the Sun moves from 23.5° N to 23.5° S of Earth’s equator, all places whose latitude equals the angle between the location of the Sun and the equator will experience Zero Shadow Days.”, added Patnaik.

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Also, as per predictions, Odisha might experience this phenomenon on 4 more days in May, 1 day in June and 4 days in July. Bolangir can witness the event on May 23 (11.54 AM) and July 20 (12.04 PM). Sambalpur can experience the phenomenon on May 28 (11.51 AM) and July 15 (12 PM). Burla can experience it on May 28 (11.52 AM) and July 15 (12 PM). Badipara can witness it on May 31 ( 11.41 AM) and July 12 ( 11:49 AM). Lastly, Rourkela can experience it on June 2 (11.48 AM) and July 10 (11.56 AM).