Stellar occultation

A stellar occultation occurs when a Solar System body passes between an observer and a star, temporarily blocking the star’s light.

Occultation light curve: A record of a star’s measured brightness during an occultation. Its shape and timing show when the body’s edge blocks and uncovers the star.
Planetary atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding a planet or other planetary body. Atmospheric refraction and absorption alter starlight before the body fully covers the star.
Pluto's atmosphere: The thin, primarily nitrogen atmosphere surrounding the dwarf planet Pluto. Stellar occultations have tracked changes in its pressure and atmospheric structure.
Transit: The passage of one celestial body across the apparent face of another as seen by an observer. A transit usually involves a body crossing a visible disk; occultations often hide a background star.
Limb darkening: The apparent dimming of a star’s disk toward its edge. A resolved stellar disk can make the disappearance and return of light gradual.
Planetary ring: A flattened collection of particles orbiting a planet or other astronomical body. Brief dips in starlight can reveal narrow rings and constrain their optical depth.
Charon: The largest moon of Pluto, with a diameter about half Pluto's. Its mutual occultations with Pluto helped determine the system's sizes and orbital properties.
Solar eclipse: An event in which the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, obscuring some or all of the Sun. It is a familiar occultation of an extended source rather than a pointlike star.
Fresnel diffraction: The spreading and interference of waves near an obstacle or aperture. Diffraction shapes the starlight pattern at the occulting body's shadow edge.
Binary asteroid: An asteroid system consisting of two bodies gravitationally bound to each other. Occultation timings can disclose a companion through a second shadow or changing silhouette.

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