On 12/19/2010 12:56 PM, Jones Beene wrote: > -----Original Message----- > From: Terry Blanton > > According to this database: > > http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/lunar_eclipses/5MCLE/xLE_Five_Millenniu > m_Canon.html > > there was no eclipse in 1554; but, it does list two in 1638, one on Dec > 21st.... My search criterion was for a total eclipse. > > > Hmmm... below is the quote - direct from Wiki for the main events of the > year 1554: > > "December 11 - The winter solstice coincides with a full lunar eclipse, an > event not to happen again until December 2010.[1][2] Since the Gregorian > calender is not yet invented at this time and the Julian calendar is ten > days out of synch with the seasons, it actually occurs on December 11, > rather than December 21 as in modern times."
That's correct. So, it seems there was a solstice eclipse in the year 1554, and all your "omen" speculation regarding that epoch and the occurence of a solstice eclipse is appropiate. That does not mean it's true, of course. Notice that the difference between the Julian calendar and the seasons is 10 days at the end of the Julian calendar use(and this is also the main reason for the calendar reform) but tends to be smaller for older epochs, so an additional calculation must be done to estimate the date of the solstices for dates prior to 1582. Basically, the Julian calendar does not consider "higher order" leap years, and the displacement is of approximately -3 days every four centuries. So, the seasons "fall short" in the Julian calendar by about 1 day every 133.33 years.
