Definition

1. Noun:
   • The event or process of one celestial body passing in front of and hiding another from view: In astronomy, an occultation occurs when a nearer object, such as the Moon or a planet, moves between an observer and a more distant object, like a star or another planet, temporarily blocking its light.
   • The resulting period of hiding or concealment: The term also refers to the specific time interval during which the distant object is obscured.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The lunar occultation of the bright star was visible across the continent. (The event of the Moon passing in front of and hiding the bright star was visible across the continent.)
  • Scientists timed the occultation precisely to gather data on the asteroid's size. (Scientists measured the period of hiding precisely to gather data on the asteroid's size.)

Advanced Usage

• "Grazing occultation": A specific type of event where the background object is only partially obscured or appears to "graze" the edge of the foreground object.
  • The grazing occultation of the star by the Moon was a rare and valuable observation for astronomers.
• "Occultation light curve": The graphical record of the change in brightness of a star during an occultation, used for scientific analysis.
  • The occultation light curve revealed details about the atmosphere of the distant planet.

Variants and Related Words

• Occult (verb): To hide or conceal, especially for one celestial body to pass in front of another.
  • The Moon will occult Jupiter tomorrow night.
• Occulting (adjective): Describing a light, especially in navigation, that rhythmically turns off and on.
  • The lighthouse has an occulting beacon.

Synonyms

• Eclipse: Specifically when one celestial body moves into the shadow of another (a related but distinct astronomical event).
• Hiding: The general act of concealing something from view.
• Obscuration: The action of making something unclear or hidden.

Related Phrases

• "Occultation event": The specific occurrence of one body obscuring another.
  • The next major occultation event involving Venus will be in 2024.
• "Radio occultation": A technique using radio signals from a spacecraft, occulted by a planet's atmosphere, to profile atmospheric properties.
  • Radio occultation data from the Mars probe helped map the planet's thin atmosphere.

Related Idioms

(Note: As a specific scientific term, "occultation" is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its use is almost exclusively technical or descriptive within astronomy.)

Noun

1. one celestial body obscures another