The True Calendar

The sun, moon, and stars, function together as a giant clock.
The Moon is a part of the measure of time.

The new month begins after the conjunction, as the moon begins to gather light. The conjunction happens at the same moment in time no matter where a person is on the earth.

Moon Phases
When is the conjunction?

New Moon 1st	Waxing Crescent	First Quarter 8th	Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon 15th	Waning Gibbous	Last Quarter 22nd	Waning Crescent

Notice the consistent pattern that every Solar Eclipse happens on a New Moon, when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, and casts its shadow on the Earth. An eclipse of the Sun can happen only when the Moon is new, and thus lies on the Sun-side of the Earth. If the Moon's orbit lay in the same plane as that of the Earth, there would be an eclipse every month. However, because the lunar orbit is tilted at an angle of about five degrees, most times the New Moon passes unseen either above or below the Sun in the sky and no eclipse is seen on Earth.

The Feast of Passover is kept after the Spring Equinox. When the Full Moon of March falls before the Spring Equinox (moment when the Sun is positioned directly over the Earth's equator), the celebration of Pesach moves forward to the next month which makes a 13-month year. There is no direct command in the Torah to add an additional month to the outgoing year. However because in each year the cycle of the Moon falls behind the cycle of the Sun by 10 days; it is necessary about every three years to adjust by approximately 28 - 30 days the Calendar to keep it in line with the Sun which regulates the four seasons.

In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following.
Josephus - Antiquities of the Jews, 3.10.5

Types of Lunar Eclipses

An eclipse of the Moon (or lunar eclipse) can only occur at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. That shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped components, one nested inside the other. The outer or penumbral shadow is a zone where the Earth blocks part but not all of the Sun's rays from reaching the Moon. In contrast, the inner or umbral shadow is a region where the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

Astronomers recognize three basic types of lunar eclipses:

1. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

The Moon passes through Earth's penumbral shadow.
These events are of only academic interest because they are subtle and hard to observe.

2. Partial Lunar Eclipse

A portion of the Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.
These events are easy to see, even with the unaided eye.

3. Total Lunar Eclipse

The entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.
These events are quite striking due to the Moon's vibrant red color during the total phase (totality).

1ST New Moon on 30 March 2014 at 1:45 P.m. E S T
Full Moon 15 April 2014 2:42 A.m. EST Total Lunar Eclipse (Passover) (Blood red)
2ND New Moon on 29 April 2014 1:14 A.m. EST Annular Solar Eclipse
3RD New Moon on 28 May 2014 at 1:40 P.m. E S T
4TH New Moon on 27 JuNe 2014 at 3:09 A.m. E S T
5TH New Moon on 26 JULy 2014 at 5:42 p.m. E S T
6TH New Moon on 25 AUGUST 2014 at 9:13 A.m. E S T
7TH New Moon on 24 September 2014 at 1:14 A.m. E S T
Full Moon 8 Oct 2014 5:51 A.m. EST Total Lunar Eclipse Sukkoth (Blood red)
8TH New Moon on 23 Oct 2014 at 4:57 P.m. E S T Partial Solar Eclipse
9TH New Moon on 22 November 2014 at 7:32 a.m. E S T
10TH New Moon on 21 December 2014 at 8:36 P.m. E S T
11TH New Moon on 20 January 2015 at 8:14 a.m. E S T
12TH New Moon on 18 Feb 2015 at 6:47 p.m. E S T

1ST New Moon on 20 Mar 2015 at 4:36 A.m. E S T Total Solar Eclipse
Full Moon 4 April 2015 10:44 P.m. EST Partial Lunar Eclipse (Passover) (Blood red)
2ND New Moon on 18 APRIL 2015 at 1.37 P.m. E S T
3RD New Moon on 17 MAY 2015 at 11:13 P.m. E S T
4TH New Moon on 16 JuNE 2015 at 9:05 A.m. E S T
5TH New Moon on 15 JULY 2015 at 8:24 p.m. E S T
6TH New Moon on 14 AUGUST 2015 at 9:54 A.m. E S T
7TH New Moon on 13 SepT 2015 1:41 A.m. E S T Partial Solar Eclipse
Full Moon 27 SEPT 2015 +/- 9:50 P.m. EST Sukkoth (Blood red)
( 28 SEPT 2015; 3:48 A.M. visible Jerusalem) Total Lunar Eclipse
8TH New Moon on 12 October 2015 at 7:06 P.m. E S T
9TH New Moon on 11 November 2015 at 12:47 P.m. E S T
10TH New Moon on 11 December 2015 at 5:29 A.m. E S T

Solar eclipses are of three types: total, partial and annular. The type seen depends on what part of the Moon's shadow passes over the observation point and the distance between the Earth and the Moon at the time of the eclipse.

An eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Earth passes through the Moon's shadow.
The Moon's shadow has two parts: a fainter outer region (in light gray) called the
penumbra and a dark inner shadow (in dark gray) called the umbra.

Total solar eclipses are the result of the Sun and the Moon being almost exactly the same angular size as we see them from Earth During a total eclipse the Moon covers the bright disk of the Sun, but little or none of the surrounding space. This allows us to see features of the Sun that would otherwise be invisible, except from outer space. These include the corona, which stretches out from the Sun in all directions, and solar prominences - large arch-shaped structures observable in the corona.

During a total solar
eclipse, the
Sun's extensive outer atmosphere
or corona is a breathtaking sight.

Total eclipses can be observed only within the region of totality, a very narrow band - up to 169 miles wide - where the Moon's shadow falls as the Earth rotates. For this reason, total eclipses are rare events in any given geographical area.

Much more common are partial solar eclipses, in which the Moon obscures only part of the Sun. Observers located in the much broader outer shadow of the Moon (the penumbra) see such an eclipse. At the edge of the penumbra, the Moon seems to "take a bite out of the Sun". Further within the penumbra, the Sun's disk takes the shape of a crescent. Unfortunately, a partial eclipse is not as dramatic as a total eclipse; even with three-quarters of the Sun covered by the Moon, daylight still looks quite ordinary.

An annular eclipse
occurs when
the Moon is not quite big enough
to block out all the Sun.

A special case of a solar eclipse is known as an annular eclipse. This occurs when the Moon is farther from the Earth than normal, and hence its apparent size is not quite sufficient to cover the Sun completely. Therefore, even though the Sun- Moon alignment is perfect, the Moon will appear slightly smaller in diameter than the Sun and a thin ring of sunlight will remain visible around the dark silhouette of the Moon. The name annular eclipse comes from the Latin annulus, meaning ring.

One should never pass up the chance of seeing the splendor of such a celestial event. However great care must be taken when watching a solar eclipse. Never look at the Sun unless you wear special solar eclipse eyeglasses, and even more importantly, make sure you have the proper filters if you plan to observe the Sun through a telescope.