Hyderabad will witness the rare celestial phenomenon called ‘Zero Shadow Day’ at 12.23 pm today, Thursday, August 3. The city had experienced the event earlier on May 9 this year. Zero Shadow Day occurs twice a year, according to a report published by Telangana Today.
The event takes place in regions near the equator, that is, between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Zero Shadow Day itself defines its meaning as no object or creature casting a shadow at all when the sun aligns directly above the Earth’s equator, ANI reported.
Everybody can experience Zero Shadow Day in Hyderabad in an open space. One just needs to present in an open area where the sun is directly overhead. Today at 12.22 pm, people can observe the event. The shadow of any vertical object near you will disappear.
Some media reports suggested that the Birla Planetarium in Hyderabad is an ideal location for enthusiasts who want to observe Zero Shadow Day today.
In May this year, the Birla Planetarium organized an event to demonstrate this phenomenon, where they placed a plate with alphabets on it, and as the Sun moved away from its zenith, the alphabet began to fade away.
Apart from Hyderabad, Bengaluru also observed Zero Shadow Day in April this year. On April 25, all vertical objects in the city became shadow-less for a short period of time at 12.17 pm.
The phenomenon is rare and takes place in selected places after years. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at Bengaluru’s Koramangala marked the occasion by organizing events at its campus in April.
Last year, Kolkata witnessed its zero shadow moment on June 5. The city observed its second Zero Shadow Day on July 7 in 2022.
Every year on the zero shadow days, students and astrophile who are located between the two Tropics erect vertical poles, and different objects and sometimes even stand outside to see for themselves the cosmic event.
