OCCULTATION

eclipse, occultation

(noun) one celestial body obscures another

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

occultation (countable and uncountable, plural occultations)

(astronomy) An astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object is hidden by another celestial object that passes between it and the observer when the nearer object appears larger and completely hides the more distant object.

Synonym: eclipse

The state of being occult (“hidden, undetected”).

Synonyms: hiddenness, invisibility, occultness

(Shia Islam) The disappearance of the Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi, who is believed alive and present in this world, but hidden until his reappearance at the end of time.

Source: Wiktionary

Oc`cul*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. occultatio a hiding, fr. occultare, v. intens. of occulere: cf.F. occultation. See Occult.]

1. (Astron.)

Definition: The hiding of a heavenly body from sight by the intervention of some other of the heavenly bodies; -- applied especially to eclipses of stars and planets by the moon, and to the eclipses of satellites of planets by their primaries.

2. Fig.: The state of being occult. The reappearance of such an author after those long periods of occultation. Jeffrey. Circle of perpetual occultation. See under Circle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition