It’s a scene familiar from movies and even some modern translations of the Bible: As Jesus Christ hangs on the cross, an eclipse blots out the sun.
For centuries, scholars have debated the exact date of Jesus’ death and questioned whether an eclipse could have happened at that time.
Plus, the darkness that descended during the Crucifixion was too long to be a solar eclipse. The time from the beginning to end of a partial eclipse can run about three hours, but the darkness of a total solar eclipse only lasts a few minutes, according to the Vatican astronomer.