[Publius6961]

The legend of the fall of Troy is mentioned in Virgil and Homer's poems but it is believed to be based on truth and the exact date has been the subject of much debate.

I am not an astronomer, nor do I have an ephemeris handy to check this out, but since there is a 10-year "difference" here, and since eclipses occur every year, I don't see the debate ending any time soon.

Then there's the definition of "date". The calendar used at the time? The Julian Calendar? The Gregorian calendar? modern "adjusted" calendar?

What?

[thulldud]

...since eclipses occur every year,....

They were looking for a solar eclipse that would have been visible in Ithaca (not the "City of Evil" one!) which narrows the field considerably. And, if you had read the article, you would have noted that a number of planetary positions were figured into the mix.

As for the exact meaning of "April 16, 1178 B.C.", what's the problem there?

[KarlInOhio]

Then there's the definition of "date". The calendar used at the time? The Julian Calendar? The Gregorian calendar? modern "adjusted" calendar?

If my astronomical calculator is correct, there was a new moon on April 16, 1178 BC Julian.

[doc30]

Solar eclipses are very specific in their timing and their location. They don’t happen every year in the same place.

[antiRepublicrat]

and since eclipses occur every year, I don't see the debate ending any time soon.

Not in the same place, and not necessarily total. For example, we're going to get a total eclipse here in the continential US in 2017, and our last one was in 1979.