The story of the Star of Bethlehem appears only in the Book of Matthew. The gospel tells us that a bright star appeared in the eastern sky when Jesus was born, famously seen by a group of wise men. These biblical “Magi,” sometimes called kings, now adorn nativity scenes around the world.
Matthew 2:1-12Tree of Life VersionWise Men Follow His Star
2 Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”[a]
3 When King Herod heard, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had called together all the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars, he began to inquire of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 So they told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd My people Israel.’”[b]7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child. And when you have found Him, bring word back to me so that I may come and worship Him as well.”
9 After listening to the king, they went their way. And behold, the star they had seen in the east went on before them, until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great gladness. 11 And when they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Miriam; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. [c] 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.
The Star of Bethlehem: Can science explain what it really was?
Evidence for the Star of Bethlehem
Astronomy website states : For centuries, astronomers have looked to the historical record in search of evidence for what could explain this Star of Bethlehem. Scholars have been discussing potential causes since at least the 13th century. Perhaps it was a supernova, a comet, a solar flare or an alignment of planets.
For example, the Star of Bethlehem couldn’t have been a meteor — a chunk of space rock that brightly burns up in Earth’s atmosphere — which would’ve appeared and faded in an instan. There’s no way three wise men could have tracked a meteor for weeks.
Ancient great conjunction
What about a mash-up of planets like the upcoming Great Conjunction of 2020? Could that explain the Star of Bethlehem?
When you rewind the motion of the planets — something that’s easy to do with observing software these days — you can see that several interesting conjunctions played out in the years around the life of Jesus. (A planetary conjunction happens when two planets make a close approach to each other in Earth’s night sky. The two objects aren’t actually near each other, though, they just look that way from our vantage point.)
In the year 7 B.C., Jupiter and Saturn had three conjunctions in the same constellation, Pisces. Because the planets move in their orbits at different speeds, and are located at different distances, sometimes they appear to pass one another in the night sky. They can also appear to hold still or move backward in the sky, which astronomers call retrograde motion. This trick is like passing a slower car on the highway. As you get close to the other vehicle, it seems to hold still beside you. Then, as you pull away, it drops backward. The same thing happens as Earth zips around the Sun much faster than the outer planets.
Christmas Comet?
In the past, some interested astronomers have also suggested the Star of Bethlehem was a comet passing near Earth. These icy bodies from the distant solar system often shine quite brightly when they venture into the inner solar system and are heated by the Sun. They’re also known for sometimes visibly lingering in the sky for weeks or months at a time. And like supernovae, we also have historical records from other cultures regarding comets.
Sure enough, in the year 5 B.C., Chinese astronomers noted the appearance of a “Broom Star” that many researchers have interpreted as a comet. Like supernovae, Chinese scholars noted many historic comets, and even recorded a number of times that meteor impacts killed people.
In the 1970s, researchers caught onto the timing coincidence of this Chinese “Broom Star,” and a string of papers started popping up in scientific journals debating the idea, among other inspirations. All the back and forth culminated in a 1977 story in The New York Times written by legendary science journalist Walter Sullivan that suggested it could have been a comet, conjunction, nova or simply myth. Clearly, no consensus opinion has emerged in the decades since, either.
* Lets just suggest that the wise men saw a bright light…
