Winter’s Shadow at Hampshire, England
January 24, 2010
The photo above showing my shadow stretching across a dormant meadow was taken near midday on January 3, 2010 outside of the New Forest Observatory in Hampshire, England. It was a bright, sunny winter’s day and freezing cold – temperature of 28 F (about -2 C). The length of the shadow gives an idea just how low the Sun is at this latitude (50 degrees north) at this time of year – the Sun is approximately 18 degrees above the horizon at noon. People in equatorial regions only see elongated shadows after sunrise and before sunset. Notice that the shadow has a distorted triangular shape, which results from perspective. Looking at the scene from above would show an extended version of my shadow but not the exaggerated long-legged shadow seen at eye level. See also the Earth Science Picture of the Day for March 14, 2008.
Coordinates for the New Forest Observatory: 50.819444, -1.59