Notice anything odd about this picture?
The sun is out as you might tell by the shadows under the cars and on the walls.
But why arent the yellow poles casting any shadows?
It appears as if someone cut out the poles from another picture and pasted it here.
But I can assure you its a real picture, and it was taken in Hawaii.
The reason why there are no shadows is because the sun is directly overhead.
The Hawaiians call this phenomenon the Lahaina Noon.
That point is constantly moving across the surface of the earth, as the planet rotates.
This point is called the subsolar point.
La haina means “cruel sun” in the Hawaiian language.
As the earth rotates, the subsolar point moves westward, circling the globe once a day.
It also moves north and south between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
Similarly, March and September equinoxes occur when the subsolar point crosses the equator.
The dates when Lahaina Noon occur changes from year to year.
The first one occurs in May, and the second one in July.
The time is usually between 12:16 to 12:43 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time.
Photo credit:astrobob.areavoices.com
Photo credit:Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum/Flickr
Photo credit:Daniel Ramirez/Flickr
