Sunrise behind SriPada

As seen from Mount Residencies
Mount Lavinia 10370, Sri Lanka

The Shadow 2023-03-17


05:53 Faint shadow forming
05:55 Sripada before sunrise

05:58 Shadow
06:03 Shadow

06:05 Faint Shadow disappearing
06:25 Sunrise behind Sripada
On the day on which the Sun rises aligned behind SriPada about 24 to 12 min before sunrise at 06:16, the Sun casts a shadow of SriPada almost upwards to the sky from the location of Sripada near the horizon.

The Sun would have been about 6 degrees to 3 degree below the horizon when the Shadow was visible. I have some still images and video, which I took to while testing to video Sunrise behind Sripada. I need to edit these videos and merge them before posting on YouTube.

As the Sun rises behind Sripada on the day of alignment, this shadow rotates toward you and would cast a shadow of Sripada pointing at you as seen on the clouds below when viewed westwards from the peak.

I was just amazed to see it, and it took me a moment to realize what it was, as I was seeing this inverted shadow of the mountan for the first time.

The Sunrise behind SriPada was visible from 6:23 to 6:26

2023-03-18 The Shadow

For a day or two before and after alignment, if the weather and the high-altitude Stratus cloud cover are favorable, you may see this shadow pointing north(left) and south(right).

06:05 Shadow
06:24 Sunrise North of Sripada
Some were skeptical of what I was saw above. So the next day 18th March, the Sun now aligned slightly north of SriPada and the shadow was seen pointing south. If you know what to look for and when then the shadow is probably not too difficult to see.

Examples of such inverted mountain shadows of Mount Rainier Mount Hood can be found online. Astronomer Dr Tilak Hewagama of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who sent me above references add that Rayleigh preferential scattering of blue wavelengths would fill the shadowed regions with the Sun below horizon.

I speculate that a misinterpretation of shadows of Sripada seen on my photographs above may have caused this Artist to draw Sunrise Behind SriPada like this on the 1972 Sri Lanka Republican Constitution commemorative Stamp.
Maybe he had observed the shadows at different directions on days before and after alignment and combined them in this single drawing.
One will never see Rays like drawn on the stamp from the Sun, but the shape of the shadows are just like what I photographed.
We too called it a Ray before I realized it was the shadow of Sripada on the brighter background.
This stamp was designed 50 years ago by L. D. P. Jayawardena with 8 other Sr Lanka Stamps from 1969-1972. Need to try contact him if he is still living.