Occultation (noun, “uh-kuhl-TAY-shion”)
An occultation is when one celestial object passes in front of another that looks smaller in the sky. For instance, the moon or an asteroid might block the light from a distant star.
Occultations occur pretty much every night. As the moon wanders across the night sky, it passes in front of stars and planets. These are called lunar occultations.
Less common are planetary occultations. This is when a planet blocks a distant object from…