occultation

noun

oc·​cul·​ta·​tion ˌä-(ˌ)kəl-ˈtā-shən 

1

: the state of being hidden from view or lost to notice

2

: the interruption of the light from a celestial body or of the signals from a spacecraft by the intervention of a celestial body

especially : an eclipse of a star or planet by the moon

Examples of occultation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are other images of the moon — another moonrise, one of the International Space Station appears to transit its disk and another of a moon-Saturn occultation. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025

This event, known as an occultation, will occur in the hours following 3:51 p.m. EDT (19:51 GMT) on July 3 and will be visible to stargazers situated in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and the southernmost tips of Chile and Argentina. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 3 July 2025

This rare event — known as an occultation — will be visible to a handful of southern hemisphere countries and regions including Antarctica, Tasmania and the McDonald Islands in the hours following 8.23 a.m. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 5 June 2025

The exact timings and duration of the occultation will differ depending on your location, so be sure to check in-the-sky.org for information tailored to your locale. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English occultacion, borrowed from Latin occultātiōn-, occultātiō "concealment, interruption of light from a celestial body," from occultāre "to prevent from being seen, conceal, keep secret" + -tiōn- -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at occult entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for occultation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation