- The Star of Bethlehem has left its mark on the gospels
as well as a constellation of holiday songs. Was it purely a divine sign,
created miraculously to mark Jesus' birth? Or was it an astronomical event
in its own right? John Mosley, program supervisor for the Griffith Observatory
in Los Angeles, explains what he sees as the most likely scientific scenario.
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- Through the years, astronomers and others have proposed
a variety of objects for the Christmas star - comets, an exploding star
or a grouping of planets. Some suggest that the star was a miracle created
especially by God. Such a suggestion cannot be proved or disproved, and
it is entirely outside the realm of science. But there's no need to resort
to miracles, given the actual astronomical events of the time.
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- The first thing is to determine the approximate date
of Jesus' birth. Then we look into the sky of that period and try to identify
the star. It doesn't work the other way around: Since virtually any year
can boast at least one reasonably interesting sky event, the astronomy
must follow the history.
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- Let's assume, as many historians have, that the most
likely time frame for the birth of Jesus was between 3 B.C. and A.D. 1.
Let's also assume that the Star of Bethlehem could be observed by skywatchers
elsewhere in the world, and not just by the Magi - who are known as "wise
men" or "kings" but were actually priests who relied on
astrology.
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- These assumptions would rule out some of the prime suspects
in the mystery: comets, brightening stars known as novae, and exploding
stars known as supernovae. The Chinese, who did a particularly good job
of cataloging astronomical phenomena, recorded no such phenomena during
the years in question.
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- Beyond the timing issue, there's another consideration:
A comet or supernova big enough to attract the wise men's attention would
have been widely noticed by royalty and commoners as well. But King Herod
and his advisers seemed not to know or care about the star until the astrologers
from the east came to visit.
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- However, if we suppose that the "star" actually
referred to the planets, the situation is less problematic. The movements
and groupings of planets in the night sky were of exceeding interest to
astrologers and were closely tracked around the world. Historical records
and modern-day computer simulations indicate that there was a rare series
of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3
B.C. and 2 B.C.
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- The show started on the morning of June 12 in 3 B.C.,
when Venus could be sighted very close to Saturn in the eastern sky. Then
there was a spectacular pairing of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 12 in the
constellation Leo, which ancient astrologers associated with the destiny
of the Jews.
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- More 'Mysteries of the Universe'
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- Between September of 3 B.C. and June of 2 B.C., Jupiter
passed by the star Regulus in Leo, reversed itself and passed it again,
then turned back and passed the star a third time. This was another remarkable
event, since astrologers considered Jupiter the kingly planet and regarded
Regulus as the "king star."
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- The crowning touch came on June 17, when Jupiter seemed
to approach so close to Venus that, without binoculars, they would have
looked like a single star.
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- The whole sequence of events could have been enough for
at least three astrologers to go to Jerusalem and ask Herod: "Where
is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east
and are come to worship him."
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- Now, this doesn't mean that astrology works. We haven't
ruled out other possibilities for the Star of Bethlehem. And the mere existence
of interesting celestial events does nothing to prove that the birth of
Jesus was accompanies by a star, that the Magi existed, or even that the
Nativity took place as described in the Bible.
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- But it does make our search more rewarding to find a
truly interesting astronomical event that happened during the most likely
time for the Nativity.
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- _____
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- This article is based on John Mosley's 1987 book, "The
Christmas Star," which is available from the Griffith Observatory.
"The Christmas Star" addresses many other questions about the
season, such as: When was Christ born? Who were the Magi? Why is Christmas
observed on Dec. 25?
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