The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 7 letter word TOTAL ECLIPSE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
O
T
A
L
E
C
L
I
P
S
E
More clues leading to the result TOTAL ECLIPSE
- Organised top celestial event in the heavens
- Top celestial realignment?
- For a time, it naturally puts us completely in the dark
- Liberal police state unfortunately leaves you completely in the dark
- For a time, it naturally puts us completely in the shade
- One of the effects of sunblock
- Top celestial disposition in astronomical phenomenon
- Variety of top celestial or astronomical event
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "astronomical event" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case astronomical event = total eclipse.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.