Umbra and Penumbra
The shadow that the Moon casts upon the Earth has two regions.
Umbra
The main part of the shadow, which is directly in line with the
Sun, is called the Umbra. This is the point where all light from
the Sun is blocked out. Viewed from the Earth a person in the umbra
would observe a Total Eclipse .
Penumbra
The other region of shadow is called the Penumbra and viewed from the
Earth a person here would observe a Partial Eclipse
. The shadow this casts is not as dark as the Umbra and so it only
blocks out some of the sunlight.
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