Zero Shadow Day
Learn how the sun moves in sky
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Twice a year the Sun stands exactly overhead and shadows disappear. Find the day it happens where you are, and see why — with maps, charts, animations and a live globe.
Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the Sun passes exactly overhead twice a
year. On those two days, at local noon, a vertical pole casts no shadow at all. That is a Zero
Shadow Day.
Zero Shadow Day tells you when yours is, and shows you why it happens.
ZSD FINDER
Your two zero shadow dates, with the exact local time of each, and how far you are from the equator
and from the tropic. Tap anywhere on the world map to ask the same question of any other place.
LOCAL NOON
The moment the Sun is highest where you are — rarely 12:00, and the reason why is worth knowing.
SHADOW LENGTHS
The shadow of a one-meter pole through the whole day, drawn as a curve. Drag the time, drag the
latitude, and watch the curve answer.
SHADOW FOR YEAR
The same shadow across all 365 days, so the two zero-crossings appear where the curve touches zero.
ANIMATIONS
Watch the zero shadow line sweep north and south across the Earth through the year, and see the
equation of time and the analemma — the figure of eight the Sun traces in the sky.
VISUALISATIONS
The celestial sphere in three dimensions: the Sun's daily arc, the celestial equator and the
ecliptic, from your own latitude.
ZERO SHADOW MOMENT
A globe showing where on Earth the Sun is directly overhead right now. Run it forward and follow the
point around the world.
Every calculation runs on your device. There are no accounts, no advertising and no tracking of any
kind. Sharing your location is optional — pick a city from the list instead and everything works the
same.
Available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Spanish and Portuguese, with
a language switch inside the app.
Made by Alok Mandavgane for the Public Outreach and Education Committee of the Astronomical Society
of India, in support of its Zero Shadow Day campaign.
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The developer, Alok Mandavgane, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Alok Mandavgane
- Size
- 54.9 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 8 more
- English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2017 Alok Mandavgane