Partial solar eclipse. When the moon occults the sun it is seen along a path. Where the total eclipse occurs this is called the Umbra; a partial eclipse covers a much wider area and this is called the Penumbra. The further away from the centre of the track the viewer is the less the sun is obscured. This picture was taken on March 20 2015 at 0.88 eclipse magnitude ( where 1 is maximum total eclipse )