What is Moon’s shadow (umbra)?

The moon’s shadow, called the umbra, is like a dark tunnel that the moon makes when it blocks out the sun.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite flashlight in a dark room. When you turn it on, the light spreads out and covers everything near you. But if you put your hand between the flashlight and the wall, you see a dark spot where your hand is, that’s like the umbra.

When the moon moves between the Earth and the sun, it blocks some of the sunlight. The part of the Earth that’s completely in the dark is inside the umbra, just like how your hand blocks all the light from reaching the wall in our example.

If you’re standing in the umbra during a total solar eclipse, it feels like night suddenly, even though it's daytime! The sky gets dark, and you might see stars or the sun’s outer layer, called the corona. It's like turning off your flashlight, everything becomes quiet and mysterious for a moment.