Wherever we go, whatever we do, we’re always accompanied by a silent companion. Sometimes it’s quite dark and visible, and others it hides among its kind, but our shadow is forever bonded to us. Still, on certain overcast days, we may look around and notice that we are alone.
Where does our shadow go when the sky is cloudy grey?
Shadows are an optical effect caused by an object when it obscures the light source. And when there are many light sources, there can be many shadows.
A shadow such a common, everyday, thing that we may simply stop noticing it until it’s gone. Yet, it is also mysterious, so much so that we write and muse, and make metaphors out of it. In literature, some have written about the importance of a shadow, and how lacking it will make people shun and avoid you. And in art, shadows are essential, without them the picture may feel odd, unnerving, or simply lacking in some unfathomable way.
So what happens on a cloudy day? Light still streams from the sky, and we see our surroundings perfectly, so why are shadows faint or nonexistent?
Similar to how rainbows form after rain, the water droplets in the clouds diffuse most of the visible light, colouring the clouds white to darker and darker grey depending on their size and depth.
And as this mass of clouds scatters the sunrays, there simply isn’t a concentrated light source in the sky, and objects on the ground cast very faint or even no shadows. But while most of the sun’s radiation, and therefore visible light, are diffused or reflected, clouds don’t make UV rays any less dangerous and sunburn is still possible.
As for our constant companion, it return the moment a sunray touches the ground.
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