"For the Hebrews celebrate the passover on the 14th day according to the moon . . . but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun." - Julius Africanus, THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE CHRONOGRAPHY OF JULIUS AFRICANUS

If we look for natural events - a solar eclipse - to explain the darkness that occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we must explain away the existence of the full moon. Our first piece of information is found in John 19:14-16 where we are told that Jesus died on a Friday just before the Passover. This is important because the Jews schedule the Passover during a full moon. A full moon occurs when the moon is on the "back side" of the earth as shown in the figure below (graphic was modified from one created by Ian Cameron Smith, clint@hermit.org). That is, the earth is between the sun and the moon. When this happens, the moon is referred to as a new moon.

Astronomical records show that no solar eclipse occurred anywhere near the city of Jerusalem during the years of A.D. 30-33.

Solar Eclipse. A solar eclipse can only occur when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. When the moon passes between the sun and the earth, the sun's rays are blocked from shining on the earth and consequently part of the earth is darkened. Therefore, a solar eclipse cannot occur during a full moon.

No eclipse was possible due to the positions of the sun and moon during the passover. Therefore, the darkness that occurred over the face of the earth is not explainable by natural causes. It was a supernatural event! Consider the following: