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Reproducing the April 3, 33 AD Lunar Eclipse in Stellarium

This page supports the Chronology of Christ article, which argues Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 3, 33 AD.  A partial lunar eclipse rose over Jerusalem at sunset that day.  Here is how to see it for yourself in the free astronomy software Stellarium.

The image below shows a simulation of the April 3, 33 AD lunar eclipse in Stellarium, with the green at the bottom representing the horizon:

To reproduce this lunar eclipse in Stellarium:

  1. Download, install, and run Stellarium. Avoid the web version as it lacks many features and seems to be less accurate.
  2. On the bottom left menu, click the "Location Window" icon, type "Jerusalem" in the search box, and click one of the Jerusalem locations.
  3. On the same bottom left menu, click the "Astronomical Calculations Window" icon.
    1. Select "From year" 30 and "to the next "3" years.
    2. Click the Lunar Eclipses tab at the bottom, then click "Calculate eclipses."
    3. Click on the "33-04-03 17:06:28" row in the table.
  4. Click the "Date and Time Window" on the same bottom left menu and set the time to 18:21:00 to move the moon above the horizon.
  5. Use the mouse scroll wheel or swipe two fingers at a time on the touchpad to zoom, drag the window to find the moon.

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