Zero Shadow Day Witnessed in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Inhabitants of Bhubaneswar witnessed the twice-a-year celestial spectacle known as ‘Zero Shadow Day’ (ZSD) on Tuesday at 11:43 am.

At this time, no shadow of any object was observed. Pathani Samanta Planetarium in the capital city had made elaborate arrangements for people to observe and understand this celestial event.

This phenomenon is observed twice a year when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. It causes the sun rays to fall perpendicular to the Earth’s surface at any particular place.

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.

This event occurs on different dates and times in different parts of Odisha. For Bhubaneswar, ZSDs will occur on May 21 at 11:43 am and July 22 at 11:53 am.