Bad astronomy: Where did the rumor start -- "first solstice eclipse in 456 years"?
Lots of news media are reporting that this week marks the first time in 456 years that a total lunar eclipse occurred on the same day as the winter solstice. The only problem is -- it's not true! In 1554, there was a partial lunar eclipse three days before the solstice, not a total eclipse on the day of the solstice. (This fact is independent of whether you use the Julian or Gregorian calendar.)
Even NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day makes the "456 years" claim, and then says that no one has figured out when the next solstice eclipse will be. (This is a weird statement -- in the computer age, predicting eclipses accurately is very easy.)
So where did this erroneous statement about "456 years" come from?
Lots of news media are reporting that this week marks the first time in 456 years that a total lunar eclipse occurred on the same day as the winter solstice. The only problem is -- it's not true! In 1554, there was a partial lunar eclipse three days before the solstice, not a total eclipse on the day of the solstice. (This fact is independent of whether you use the Julian or Gregorian calendar.)
Even NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day makes the "456 years" claim, and then says that no one has figured out when the next solstice eclipse will be. (This is a weird statement -- in the computer age, predicting eclipses accurately is very easy.)
So where did this erroneous statement about "456 years" come from?