Asteroid occultation
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An asteroid occultation occurs when an asteroid passes in front of a star (occults a star), temporarily blocking its light (as seen from Earth). From any particular place such events occur almost every night, although most require a telescope to see.
Asteroid occultations are useful for measuring the size and position of asteroids much more precisely than can be done by any other means. A cross-sectional profile of the shape of an asteroid can even be determined if a number of observers at different, nearby, locations observe the occultation.
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