Umbra, penumbra and antumbra

Umbra, penumbra and antumbra of Earth and images that could be seen at some points in these areas (Note: the relative size and distance of the bodies shown are not to scale.)“… The Earth’s shadow has two distinct parts,… the UMBRA is the part of the shadow where all direct sunlight is blocked by the Earth; the PENUMBRA of the shadow is where the Earth only blocks some of the sunlight.”
Umbra (A) and penumbra (B)


The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object. Assuming no diffraction, for a collimated beam (such as a point source) of light, only the umbra is cast.

These names are most often used for the shadows cast by celestial bodies, though they are sometimes used to describe levels, such as in sunspots.