More than one shadow during an eclipse

[tarasmith]

I am having a very hard time finding any information about this topic. I remember back in the 80's, in the second grade, there was a solar eclipse. I went to catholic school. The nuns pointed out that we have two shadows during the eclipse! I saw it for myself and assumed it was something everyone knew. (learning later most people do not know about it) I have always seen my double shadow during both lunar and solar eclipses, only full eclipses. This past full blood moon eclipse my daughter and I saw ourselves and trees and the mailbox had two shadows. But when the moon was fully covered, we had 4 shadows each! 2 of them were larger and faint and 2 were dark to normal looking. They were cast out around us and it was amazing to watch 4 of us moving around each! When I went inside to look up why we have more than one shadow, I was unable to find any information about this! Can you please explain why this happens and if it only happens during an eclipse and why this eclipse we saw 4 and not just 2 during part of it? Thank you.

[norman40]

Hi,

This forum is intended for students, parents, and teachers working on K-12 science projects. If your question is related to a science project, please post some details such as your hypothesis, research question or experimental plan. If you are looking for help with homework or general science discussions there are other sites that should be able to answer your question.

A. Norman