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occultation |
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occultation (ŏk'əltā`shən), in astronomy, eclipse of one celestial body by another, e.g., when the moon lies between a star and the earth. Occultations of stars by the moon are important in astronomy. Since stellar positions are very accurately known, the time and position of an occultation can be used to determine the position of the moon. Alternatively, an observer can determine his or her longitude longitude (lŏn`jĭt ..... Click the link for more information. by comparing the time at which he observes an occultation with a table listing the universal time universal time (UT), the international time standard common to every place in the world, it nominally reflects the mean solar time along the earth's prime meridian (renumbered to equate to civil time ). ..... Click the link for more information. at which the occultation occurs. occultation [‚ä·kəl′tā·shən] (astronomy) The disappearance of the light of a celestial body by intervention of another body of larger apparent size; especially, a lunar eclipse of a star or planet. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Pluto is the only planet never visited by a spacecraft, and so, for now, occultations are the sole means to study its atmosphere. Alcock and his colleagues propose to use cameras mounted on a trio of telescopes spaced a few kilometers apart to distinguish stellar occultations from mere twinklings due to atmospheric turbulence. They base this whole idea on observations of stellar light blockages, or occultations, during only two occasions. |
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