Orbit of a Transiting Exoplanet (Transit and Secondary Eclipse)

A transit, also called a primary eclipse, occurs when a planet moves between its star and the telescope, blocking some of the starlight. A secondary eclipse occurs half-an-orbit later, when the planet moves behind the star and all of the light coming from the planet is blocked. Whether a planet is transiting or not depends on whether we are observing its orbit from the side (transiting) or from above (not transiting).