I'm a bit skeptical as all of the events used for dating are quite common. The constellations would appear every spring. The new moon occurs every 28 days. The particular alignment of the two planets would probably occur at least once a year, maybe more than once. Having said that, I have not done the math and it is possible that the exact confluence of these otherwise common events is quite rare.
However, assuming that their claim is correct, it is very interesting that the timing lines up with the solar eclipse which is itself, a very rare event. What I think is even more interesting is that this level of detail was remembered hundreds of years later when Homer was writing. That, by itself, suggests that something important happened and/or that Homer was working from a very detailed history of the time. Ignoring Odysseus for the moment, the fact that the timing lines up with the ash layer that is presumed to be the destruction of Troy is very interesting, and I believe that it lends a great deal of support to the historical fact of the Trojan war and more precisely, the destruction of Troy.
EDIT: to put it another way, I find it fascinating when literary evidence lines up with archeological evidence. It is rare to get two completely independent pieces of evidence in history this old, and it simultaneously puts the archeology in context while supporting the veracity of the writing.
However, assuming that their claim is correct, it is very interesting that the timing lines up with the solar eclipse which is itself, a very rare event. What I think is even more interesting is that this level of detail was remembered hundreds of years later when Homer was writing. That, by itself, suggests that something important happened and/or that Homer was working from a very detailed history of the time. Ignoring Odysseus for the moment, the fact that the timing lines up with the ash layer that is presumed to be the destruction of Troy is very interesting, and I believe that it lends a great deal of support to the historical fact of the Trojan war and more precisely, the destruction of Troy.
EDIT: to put it another way, I find it fascinating when literary evidence lines up with archeological evidence. It is rare to get two completely independent pieces of evidence in history this old, and it simultaneously puts the archeology in context while supporting the veracity of the writing.