Science Art: Earth’s Shadow and Penumbra in Sections, 1898.

Scientific illustration of the shadows cast by the Earth on the moon.
Scientific illustration of the shadows cast by the Earth on the moon.

This delightful diagram appears on a page of A New Astronomy For Beginners that also has an almanac of “Important Future Eclipses” from 1898 (January 22, East African and India) to 1918 (June 8, Oregon to Florida).

I’m not sure how useful the diagram is – I am having trouble, in fact, seeing exactly what’s being illustrated, although I’m pretty darn familiar with how a lunar eclipse works. I mean, I guess it’s moon pathways through the shadow, but the lines are little abstract for me to grasp immediately. I very much appreciate the composition of the thing, though. Charting the celestial mysteries.