(from Latin paene, “almost”; umbra, “shadow”), in astronomy, the outer part of a conical shadow, cast by a celestial body, where the light from the Sun is partially blocked—as compared to the umbra, the shadow’s darkest, central part, where the light is totally excluded. The definition of the term may be extended to include the partial shadow of any large source of light or electromagnetic radiation. An observer in the penumbra sees the Sun (or other light source) partially obscured. The term also is used for the outer portion of a sunspot.
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