Why don't shadows fall below an East-West line (always falling north in the Northern Hemisphere)?

Question

Why do shadows always fall north along an East-West line? At least in the Northern Hemisphere. Would shadows fall south in the Southern Hemisphere? In what situation would a shadow fall south in the northern hemisphere??

Answer 1

In the northern hemisphere, from the vernal equinox until the autumnal equinox, shadows may fall south of the east-west line in the early morning and late afternoon.

Answer 2

First of all, it is _not_ the case that shadows always fall on the north side of the east-west line in the northern hemisphere. Between March and September, people in the northern hemisphere see south-ish pointing shadows for at least part of the day (at least shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset). Also, if you live not too far north (no farther than 23.5 degrees north latitude), there are certain times of the year when the shadows will fall south ALL DAY.

So all you can really say is that shadows fall north _most_ of day for most of the year, for most places in the northern hemisphere.

The reason for this is that "most of the time" the subsolar point (the spot on earth that lies directly under the sun) is farther south than most points in the northern hemisphere (just as it is farther _north_ than most point in the _southern_ hemisphere). That means the sun "tends" to be in the southern half of the sky as seen from points in the north; therefore the shadows point north-ish.

Answer 3

Shadows are cast in the opposite direction from where the sun is. Use this simple fact, and think about where the sun is located (i.e., is it north or south of an east-west line)?

If you're located in the tropics, the sun can be either north or south of an east-west line. If you're outside the tropics, it will always be on one side or the other (to the south, if you're north of the tropics).

Answer 4

If you were above the Equator, mid summer, but below the tropic line, a shadow would be cast southerly in the Northern Hemisphere!

Answer 5

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