Karwar: ‘Zero Shadow Day’ observed on April 30

Karwar: The Sub Regional Science Centre here on Friday observed and recorded a unique astronomical phenomenon: for 1 minute starting at 12:31 pm, no object under the sun had its shadow cast around it.

This phenomenon is named the ‘Zero Shadow Day.’

Due to the lockdown, the Centre could not arrange for school students to experience this phenomenon live but made them watch it by conducting an experiment at home.

On any regular day, when the sun reaches the apex height in the sky, usually at noontime, shadows can still be seen cast on the north or south side of any object that is under the sun.

This is because the earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at 23.5 degrees. This is also the reason for the seasons on the planet.

However, every year when the sun migrates between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the afternoon of two particular days remains shadowless.

April 30 was one such day.