In 1983, Colin Humphreys and W. G. Waddington noted that the reference to a solar eclipse is missing in some versions of Luke and argued that the reported sun's darkness could be accounted for by confusion with a partial lunar eclipse that had taken place on 3 April AD 33: lunar eclipses can last much longer than solar ones.
In 1983, Colin Humphreys and W. G. Waddington observed that a mention of a solar eclipse was lacking in some versions of Luke, proposing instead that the sun's darkness could be explained by misidentification with a prolonged partial lunar eclipse that took place on April 3, AD 33.