The Zero Shadow Day

The Celestial Phenomenon held at Bhubhaneswar where a large number of science enthusiasts and few locales gathered at Pathai Samanta Planetarium to witness the Zero Shadow Day.

The Planetarium officials placed four poles over white papers under the sun and waited for shadow to disappear. The Sun was exactly over head at 90 degree angle to the earth’s surface and the Sunlight was vertical for which shadows merged with objects for exact four minutes. This event occurs twice in a year between The Tropic Of Cancer and Tropic Of Capricon. The planetarium deputy director Subhendu Pattnaik said “Uttarayan (movement of the Sun from the Equator to the tropic of Cancer) and Dakshinayan (back from autumnal equinox to Capricorn in the south) take place because of earth’s rotation on its axis which is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the axis of revolution around the Sun, ZSD occurs in different locations at different times. It takes place twice in Odisha – May-June and in July. Bhubaneswar witnessed ZSD occurrence Monday, people of Cuttack will get a glimpse of it May 22 while denizens in Burla can experience ZSD May 28. People of Rourkela can see it June 2.”

By: Shruti Anand

Content: http://www.orissapost.com/celestial-event-delights-science-lovers/