[soc.religion.christian] An afterthought on eclipses and the Crucifixion

wales@cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) (04/03/91)

Chuck --

Regarding your comment on the end of the "Shroud of Turin" article in
the newsgroup, where you said you weren't sure about the details with
regard to eclipses and the Crucifixion:

A solar eclipse can occur only at new moon (since it requires the moon
to be positioned between the sun and the earth).  Since Passover comes
at full moon, it is flatly impossible to have a solar eclipse during
Passover.  The reported darkness during the day of the Crucifixion could
thus not possibly have been due to a solar eclipse.  I would tend to
attribute it to a storm (sand and/or rain).

A lunar eclipse, on the other hand, can occur only at full moon (since
it requires the earth to be positioned between the sun and the moon).
It is very possible for a lunar eclipse to occur at Passover.  Indeed,
some researchers believe there may in fact have been a lunar eclipse on
the evening just after the Crucifixion -- and that this may help explain
why Peter quoted Joel's prophecy about the moon being turned into blood
(Acts 2:20; Joel 2:31).

There was, in fact, a partial lunar eclipse in April of AD 33 -- on one
of the two most likely dates for the Crucifixion (based on astronomical
calculations of which Passovers could have begun on a Friday or Thursday
evening; the other reasonable possibility is in AD 30; I can give you
more info on this line of research if you want).  The precise timing of
the AD 33 eclipse is sufficiently uncertain, though, that experts dis-
agree on whether it would or would not have been visible from Jerusalem.

Feel free to post this to the newsgroup if you wish.

Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683