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The central portion of the moon's shadow is called the "umbra". Standing anywhere in the umbra, you would see the entire sun covered by the moon. If you moved far enough to the side to see some part of the sun uncovered, you would then be in the "penumbra" portion of the shadow.

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14y ago
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11y ago

The almost-total shadow on the Moon is the "umbra". The area of partial shadow around the umbra is called the "penumbra".

Why isn't the umbra a TOTAL shadow? There's no sunlight going directly to the Moon, because the Moon is completely in the Earth's shadow. So you might expect the Moon to become completely dark, right? But the Moon turns a deep dim reddish color!

This is caused by sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere, and being refracted - bent - by passing through air. Because red rays are refracted more than the blue rays are, the red rays of sunshine go through the atmosphere, are bent inward a little, and illuminate the darkened Moon. You can think of this as "all the sunrises and sunsets in the world, all at once".

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14y ago

The umbra is the darker complete shadow. The penumbra is the brighter partial shadow.

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15y ago

The "umbra".

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Q: What is the name of the darkest shadow of the moon that causes a total eclipse?
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Related questions

What is the connection between the umbra and a total eclipse?

"Umbra" means "shadow"; specifically the darkest part of the shadow of a planet or moon during an eclipse.


What is the darkest portion of the moon's shadow called during a total solar eclipse?

penumbra


During a total solar eclipse what is the darkest portion of the Moon's shadow called?

penumbra


When a person experiences the third stage eclipse or a total solar eclipse where is he standing?

Because the moon is small compared to the Earth, the shadow it casts isn't very large. The small size of the shadow and the rotation of the Earth mean that where you need to be to see a solar eclipse is very specific and changes from eclipse to eclipse. To see the next total solar eclipse, you'll have to travel to Northeastern Australia or North New Zealand on November 13, 2012. Good luck!


What causes a total eclipse of the sun?

The moon passes in front of the sun and this causes a shadow to be cast on the earths serface. When the sun is completely covered by the moon this is called a total eclipse.


What is the part of a shadow that surrounds the darkest part?

There are two parts of a shadow: the UMBRA and the PENUMBRA. UMBRA is the inner darker part of a shadow. PENUBMRA is the outher lighter layer of a shadow. During a solar eclipse, the area on the planet that witnesses a complete total solar eclipse would be under the moon's shadow's UMBRA. The area that views a partial solar eclipse would be under the PENUMBRAL shadow.


Why can only certain parts of the world see a total eclipse?

The people who see a total eclipse are in the moon's umbra, the darkest part of the shadow where it completely blocks the sun. The moon is much smaller than Earth is, and therefore its shadow is as well. Therefore only a small portion of Earth can be in the moon's shadow at a time.


What is the definition of umbra?

The umbraUmbra comes from the Latin "shadow". It is the darkest part of a shadow. From within the umbra, the source of light is completely blocked by the object causing the shadow. This contrasts with the penumbra, where the light source is only partially blocked and there is only a partial shadow.


What are the two shadows casts from as eclipse?

I think you are asking what is the lighter part of the Earth's shadow on the Moon that surrounds the darkest part. The penumbra is this lighter part of the shadow. The darkest part is the umbra.


What is the area of total darkness on earth called when there is a total eclipse?

These areas are said to be in the umbra. From Britannica Online Encyclopedia (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/613811/umbra): "in an eclipse of the Sun, the regions within the umbra experience a total eclipse and those within the penumbra, partial eclipse."


What is the darkest part of a shadow called?

The darkest part of a shadows is called the "umbra", which is actually Latin for "shadow". This is where the light source is completely blocked by the occluding body. The person viewing the umbra experiences a total eclipse.


What is the darkest side of the Moon's shadow called?

The darkest, "total" shadow is called the "umbra", while the partial shadow is called the "penumbra", from the latin prefix "pen" meaning "almost".