Zero Shadow Day in Mumbai: Images and Viral Videos Flood Twitter on This Rare Celestial Event

Mumbaikars experienced a fascinating phenomenon on Monday as the city’s inhabitants were treated to a unique celestial event called Zero Shadow Day on May 15. For those unfamiliar with this occurrence, it lives up to its name: on this particular day, shadows completely vanish, defying the usual expectations of the sun’s position. Regardless of whether a person or object is directly under the sun’s rays, no shadow is cast.

Twice a year, this intriguing phenomenon takes place when the sun aligns directly overhead, resulting in Zero Shadow Day. On such occasions, the sun reaches its zenith in the sky, causing shadows to vanish from the Earth’s surface. The position of the sun is such that it reduces the length of shadows to such an extent that they become invisible to the naked eye.

Thus, many Mumbai residents were prompted to capture the event and share their experiences on social media. Videos and images flooded social media handles as people marvelled at the unique occurrence of sunlight casting no shadows.

The Public Outreach & Education Committee of the Astronomical Society of India has explained that Zero Shadow Day can be observed in locations situated between +23.5 and -23.5 degrees latitude. The occurrence of this phenomenon varies in different places, depending on their geographical position. As we have learned in school, the Earth’s rotational axis is tilted at an angle. Specifically, the axis is inclined at 23.5 degrees relative to the plane of its orbit around the sun.

After experiencing the first Zero Shadow Day on Monday, Mumbaikars can look forward to another occurrence of this rare phenomenon on July 28. Hyderabad had the privilege of witnessing this extraordinary event on May 9, while Bengaluru experienced it earlier on April 25.