Bhubaneswar, May 21: The capital city is set to witness a rare celestial spectacle known as 'Zero Shadow Day' (ZSD) on Tuesday, during which no shadow of any object or being will be observed. Elaborate arrangements have been made at the Pathani Samanta Planetarium for the event scheduled at 11:43 am.
What is Zero Shadow Day?
This phenomenon occurs twice a year when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, causing its rays to fall perpendicular to the Earth's surface.
The event occurs due to the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis at an angle of 23.5° to its revolution axis around the sun. As the Tropic of Capricorn passes below the Indian landmass, the event can only be observed between Kanyakumari and the Tropic of Cancer, which passes through Central India slightly above Odisha.
The event is observable throughout the state but on different dates and times. For Bhubaneswar, ZSDs will occur on May 21 at 11:43 am and July 22 at 11:53 am. One can observe the phenomenon by placing symmetrical objects like buckets, poles, cardboard boxes, and bottles vertically on a flat surface outdoors under direct sunlight.
