July 30, 1776 Lunar Eclipse Lasted 1 Hour 35 Minutes as Revolution-Era Americans Watched
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Jul 4
July 30, 1776 Lunar Eclipse Lasted 1 Hour 35 Minutes as Revolution-Era Americans Watched
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jul 4
Summary
A total lunar eclipse on July 30, 1776 delivered an unusually long 1 hour 35 minutes of totality, with mid-eclipse at 7:01 p.m. and the moon leaving Earth’s shadow at 8:48 p.m.
Philadelphia, New York and Boston missed much of the peak because totality occurred before moonrise; observers first saw the moon re-emerge at 7:49 p.m. low in the east-southeast.
The eclipse came 26 days after the Declaration of Independence was adopted and 3 days before delegates began signing the parchment on Aug. 2, helping embed the event in Revolutionary-era lore.
Journals and diaries show the eclipse was widely discussed, with figures including John Newton and militia officers often treating it as an omen during a period of wartime uncertainty.
The broader 1776 sky looked largely familiar by modern standards, though Polaris sat 1.88 degrees from the celestial pole versus 0.63 degrees today and Philadelphia reached a mild 76 F on July 4.