Bengaluru to witness Zero Shadow Day today: All you need to know

The celestial event, according to the Astronomical Society of India (ASI), occurs close to the equator, between the Tropics of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. On August 18, the Sun will be directly overhead in Bengaluru creating the same celestial event for the second time this year.

“Zero Shadow Day occurs when the Sun will be directly overhead at local noon, and hence any vertical object will cast no shadow. This happens for places between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, and is on April 25 and 18 August) for Bengaluru,” Indian Institute of Astrophysics had said earlier, reported Times of India.

The length of the shadow is reduced on Zero Shadow Day as a result of the Sun rising higher in the sky.

The Astronomical Society of India (ASI) had also explained in its earlier statement that for those residing between the latitudes of +23.5 and -23.5 degrees, this event will happen twice this year. The Sun's declination will be equal to their latitude twice-once during Uttarayan and once during Dakshinayan.

The Sun will be exactly overhead at noon and will not cast a shadow of an object on the ground on these two days, according to ASI.

During the Uttarayan and Dakshinayan, the Sun’s declination matches the observer’s latitude, resulting in the phenomenon of Zero Shadow Day. Declination is the angle between the plane of the Earth’s equator and the rays of the Sun. On the other hand, Latitude is the angular distance of a location south or north of the Earth’s equator.

Earlier this week, Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, also witnessed Zero Shadow Day on August 4. Several people from the city shared videos and pictures on social media highlighting no shadow from the sunlight. The phenomenon was observed for a short period around 12:23 PM.