Figure 3-8: Three Types of Lunar Eclipse People on the nighttime side of Earth see a lunar eclipse when the Moon moves through Earth’s shadow. In the umbra, the darkest part of the shadow, the Sun is completely covered by Earth. The penumbra is less dark because only part of the Sun is covered by Earth. The three paths show the motion of the Moon if the lunar eclipse is penumbral (Path 1, in yellow), total (Path 2, in red), or partial (Path 3, in blue). The inset shows these same paths, along with the umbra and penumbra, as viewed from Earth.