Under the sun

Home > Diaries > 2013 > 334

I FLEW north to Rockhampton where the tropic of Capricorn crosses just a few kilometres south of the city centre. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and it was a long day.

Following some local sightseeing upon my arrival in Rockhampton, I reached The Spire, the official location of the Tropic of Capricorn. I arrived in time to observe the sun vertically overhead for 102 seconds between 11:57:17 and 11:58:59 AM.

Seeing the shadows directly underneath everything seemed a little unnatural as one expects any cast shadows to have an angle. During these 102 seconds there were no angles to the shadows. The shadow of the vertically aligned spire perfectly aligned with the now almost non-existent shadow of the sundial directly beneath it.

Blogs from today:
Standing under the Sun
Chapel of the Underworld