Penumbra

The penumbra (Latin for mid-shadow) is the portion of a shadow that results from the source of illumination being only partially blocked. Penumbras only occur when the source of light is not a point-source. As the sun is a visible disc, solar shadows have penumbras. The penumbra part of a shadow is contrasted with the umbra part of the shadow in which the light source is completely blocked.

See also: eclipse.

... Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web www.wikilookup.info   This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.