Gesamttransitbildgebung

Gesamttransit is not a widely standardized term in astronomy. In German-language context, it would be formed from Gesamt (total) and Transit (the passage of one body across the disk of another as seen from Earth). If used, it could imply a transit event in which the transiting body completely covers the face of the background object. However, the phrase is uncommon, and most practitioners would instead refer to a transit, an eclipse, or a grazing event, depending on the situation.

In practice, the phrase is most readily associated with the distinction between planetary transits and stellar eclipses. In exoplanet studies, transits describe a planet passing in front of a star; the planet typically obscures only a fraction of the star’s disk, resulting in a measurable dip in brightness but not a full blockage. A true total occlusion would require an object with an apparent size comparable to or larger than the star, which is not characteristic of planet–star configurations. By contrast, in binary star systems, a total eclipse occurs when one star completely obscures the other.

Because of this ambiguity, the term Gesamttransit is rarely used in formal catalogs or literature. If encountered, the context should clarify whether it refers to a planetary transit, a binary-star eclipse, or an historical usage. Standard terminology to rely on is transit, eclipse, partial transit, grazing transit, or total eclipse.