Bengaluru to observe ‘Zero Shadow Day’ today. Here’s all you need to know

Bengaluru will observe a unique celestial event today called ‘Zero Shadow Day’. For a brief period of time on April 25, vertical objects in the city will not cast a shadow as the Sun will be directly overhead. At 12.17 pm today, the Sun will be directly overhead the city and vertical objects will not cast a shadow. This day will therefore be observed as Zero Shadow Day. Here’s all you need to know about it.

Why does Zero Shadow Day occur?

The Sun is almost never exactly overhead at noon but usually transits a bit lower in altitude, a bit to the north or a bit to the south.

However, “for people living between +23.5 and -23.5 degrees latitude, the Sun's declination will be equal to their latitude twice - once during Uttarayan and once during Dakshinayan,” according to the Astronomical Society of India (ASI). “On these two days, the Sun will be exactly overhead at noon and will not cast a shadow of an object on the ground.”