occultation

IPA: ɑkjʌɫtˈeɪʃʌn

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

Examples of "occultation" in Sentences

The phenomenon illustrated is called the "occultation" of the planet.
Essentially, this so-called occultation passed the shadow of Eris over the Earth.
An occultation occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
(A stellar occultation occurs when an intervening body -- in this case Titan -- blocks the light from a star).
Astronomers refer to this phenomenon as an "occultation," taken from the Latin word occultÄre, which means "to conceal."
The only way to gauge its size accurately was to wait for it to pass in front of a distant star, in what's known as an occultation.
This bending will cause the apparent occultation, that is, going behind the planet, to occur later than otherwise expected, and to exit from occultation prior to when otherwise expected.
This remarkable effect (called occultation - hence the sneaky blog post title), while it might seem rather mundane in some ways (although you're seeing the effect of an asteroid with your own eyes!) is extremely powerful in astronomy.