A debris disk around the star AU Microscopii. The black circle in the center is an occulting disk of a coronagraph.

An occulting disk is a small disk placed centrally in the eyepiece of a telescope or at its focal point, to block the view of a bright object so that fainter objects can be seen more easily.[1][2]

The coronagraph, at its simplest, is an occulting disk in the focal plane of a telescope, or in front of the entrance aperture, that blocks out the image of the solar disk, so that the corona can be seen. Starshade is one designed to fly in formation with a space telescope to image exoplanets.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Occulting disk - Oxford Reference". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. ^ Ridpath, Ian (2012). A Dictionary of Astronomy. Oxford University Press. p. 336. ISBN 9780199609055. Retrieved 28 August 2023.


Categories