On Tuesday in Hyderabad, an incredible event occurred called Zero Shadow Day. At 12:12 pm, objects appeared to cast no shadow for a brief time because the sun’s shadow directly fell on them. Many people went to the Birla Planetarium to witness this event, and others shared pictures on social media.
One person, Ramesh, tweeted that they placed a bottle on the ground and were amazed to see that no shadow was reflected for a period. Rohini, a class 9 student, said it was an interesting phenomenon to observe and watched an experiment at the Birla Planetarium closely.
Hari Babu, a technical officer at the Birla Planetarium, said many students from different schools in the city participated in the event. They were taught about the phenomenon and then experienced it for themselves. They were also educated about other celestial events and how to watch them.
During Zero Shadow Day, the sun is directly overhead, causing objects to align with the sunlight and not create any shadows on the ground. This happens twice a year for just a minute each time and will occur again on August 3. It is not rare, but rather a regular event that happens twice a year in areas near the equator.
However, there was some confusion among children after news of Zero Shadow Day went viral in Bengaluru last month. Some thought that all object shadows would disappear for a while, but during the live experiment in Hyderabad, it was demonstrated that only vertical object shadows disappear when the sun is exactly above them. Shadows of other objects are still visible, such as a person standing with their body straight versus stretching their hand while standing.
