Rather than focus on the solstice, this month I thought I would include a holiday theme, and investigate one of the most famous, and most influential celestial events, ever to be described by humankind - The Star of Bethlehem, and provide some astronomical suggestions as to what this phenomenon might have been.
What clues can we get from the Biblical account?
The very brief references to the Star of Bethlehem in the Gospel of Matthew can give us quite a lot of information from which to start hypothesising:
*The star was bright - it clearly got the attention of the Magi.
*It was a new star in the sky as it suddenly appeared to the Magi and was not something they were familiar with.
*The star rose in the East from the Magi’s initial vantage point – which suggests it was following the ecliptic (the invisible East-West line that the Sun and planets move along.)
*The star appeared to have led the Magi first towards the East toward Jerusalem, and then South, from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
*The star appeared to point in the sky to a spot above the ground.
*The star filled them with hope and joy – so it clearly had a spiritual meaning to the cultures of the day.
*The star eventually vanished, meaning it was a temporary night sky feature.
Potential astronomical candidates.
So considering those points, here are my top 5 candidates for what the Star of Bethlehem may have been. Starting with the least likely, and ending with what I believe best explains what the Magi may have seen.
5. An alien spacecraft.
We all enjoy a good sci-fi story here at UFP, and we have many examples within the canon of Star Trek where the actions of alien life have had consequences for the evolutionary story of a species. We also have examples of how less advanced species view spacecraft in orbit. For example, in Star Trek, First Contact, we see the character Lily Sloane ask Zefram Cochrane what that new star is in the constellation of Leo. The camera cuts up, and we see a bright star moving against the night sky before the Borg sphere fires upon the launch site. (Skip to 2:34 in the video below to watch the Borg attack)
Or to demonstrate a similar encounter from the "alien's" side, during Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home, Kirk, and the crew remember to engage the Klingon Bird-of-Prey cloaking device to prevent the relatively primitive systems of the day from tracking their orbit above Earth.
So, aliens visiting our planet in stories are well established; the issue is that in real life, there is still no evidence that any extraterrestrial civilisation has ever visited our planet, and therefore, there is no evidence that they would have done so around 2000 years ago at the time of the biblical story.
4. The Planet Venus.
Venus is straightforward to spot in the night sky, as are all the planets until you reach the ice giants of Uranus and Neptune, who both need optical aid to be seen. The planet Venus is often the first star seen in the evening or the last one you see after dawn, so it certainly would have been noticed by the Magi. The problem with the Venus theory is that the Magi could have identified any of the planets relatively easily. They knew Venus, or Ishtar as they would have called it, relatively well and understood her orbit. As wise men, scientists and accomplished astronomers, they would have spent years mapping her track across the night sky, paying particular attention to her brightness at dawn and dusk. There would be nothing special about seeing her and nothing that would have warranted them setting off to Jerusalem to see the King. This theory just isn’t unusual enough for me to be a good candidate.
3. The Triple Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
In the 7th Century BC between 27th May and December 7th, there was an unusual event where the planets Saturn and Jupiter came very close together in the same part of the sky three times. Such an event, when it happens is called a conjunction and can often make two bright stars shine together, almost looking like a single object. As this happened three times in the same year, we would call this a triple conjunction, but to the Magi this would have been significant for a couple of reasons; firstly, a triple conjunction is rare and not something the Magi would have seen regularly. Single conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn take place at an interval of nearly 20 years, that means that it is entirely possible (depending upon the ages of the Magi) that this might have been the first time they had witnessed such an event. A triple conjunction however is rarer, there is a chance of a triple conjunction every 120 years, so it is certain that none of them would have witnessed this before. Secondly, what made this already rare event of a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn even rarer was that it took place in the same constellation, that being Pisces the fish. This happens approximately once every 800-900 years. Pisces was also very significant, because 2000 years ago Ptolemaic astrologers associated constellations with countries neighbouring Greece. Pisces was associated with the city of Jerusalem, and the old Kingdom of Israel, which is where the Magi ultimately decided to go.
But even with this level of rarity, and the astrological significance attributed to it, this contender still only reaches 3rd place on my list because the Magi would have been able to tell clearly that this was not a single star. Modelling of this conjunction has shown that whilst Saturn and Jupiter would come close together in the sky, they would not come together as a single star in any of the three conjunctions; there would have been a clear separation between both planets of about a degree, making it obvious that they were not a single star. If you add to this that planets don’t just appear together unexpectedly; they wander across the sky over time. This movement would have been obvious to any ground-based observers, as would their eventual pulling apart after the event. Neither Jupiter nor Saturn would have been new to the Magi, even if their thrice-time meeting was unusual at the time.
2. A supernova
For many reasons, this is an excellent contender to be the Star of Bethlehem. A Super Nova is the explosive and extraordinary death of a giant star. They are relatively difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy; they can literally happen at any moment, and the closer ones have the potential to be very bright – some even visible during the day. For more on supernovas, how and why they occur, check out an article I wrote on Betelgeuse and why that star is coming very close to ending its life in the form of a supernova.
Assuming the supernova was in our galaxy and within a few hundred million lightyears away, such an event would have been stunning to early astronomers. Plenty of historical records show such events being recorded in detail, including the Chinese Great Star of 1054 (the remnants of which form the Crab Nebula today) or Kepler’s supernova of 1604, which occurred in the constellation of Ophiuchus and whose remnants form SN 1604.
This isn’t my top candidate to be the Star of Bethlehem, however, because supernovas don’t just vanish; they dim and leave behind telltale signs that they were there in the form of supernova remnant nebula. There is such a remnant which fits in with the timeline of 2000 years ago, too – RCW 103; the trouble is it is in the southern hemisphere in the constellation of Norma (the carpenters Square), and therefore, wouldn’t have been visible to the Magi in the East from their home location of Mesopotamia/Babylonia. Other recordings of potential supernovas were made in and around the right time by Chinese, Korean and other early astronomers. Still, there are no apparent remnants to enable precise historical modelling.
1. A comet.
Comets have long been at the centre of many historical events on Earth, including foreshadowing the Battle of Hastings, or as seen here in the painting of the Nativity by Giotto di Bondone in 1301. This painting helps to demonstrate why a comet is such as good fit to be the Star of Bethlehem. Comets move around the Sun and can be visible in the East at dawn, or the west at sunset. Their tails can be incredibly long, with accounts of the 837 approach of Halley's Comet with its tail stretching halfway across the sky and the nucleus as bright as Venus. Their tails appear to shift direction as they pass behind the Sun and head away from Perihelion, and at times they can appear to almost float in the sky, pointing down towards the ground with help from their tail. They also eventually fade away entirely.
All these characteristics seem to fit best with Matthew's Gospel description; therefore, I believe a comet is the most likely explanation for the phenomenon described. However, there is a slight problem. There is no comet at the right time, at least not one bright enough or in the right place to account for it being the Star of Bethlehem.
Chinese astronomers had been recording everything happening in the night sky for 200 years before the nativity events, including the recording of ‘broom stars’ (which we know as comets) and ‘guest stars’ (which we now call supernovae). The Chinese did record a “Broom Star” that appeared around 12BC – which just so happened to be the most famous comet of them all, Halley’s Comet, but that’s a little too early to be responsible for the Star of Bethlehem.
So whilst there isn't a perfect candidate, I still believe a comet is the best astronomical phenomenon to explain what the Bible says the Magi saw. What is even more convincing to me is not the 12BC appearance of Halley's Comet necessarily, but rather its next potential appearance in the spring of 66AD. Modern-day scholars and theologians suggest that Matthew wrote his account of the Nativity in around 70AD (+/- five years). That date coincides perfectly with the 66AD event. Of course, I may be wrong, but if I were writing something deeply and spiritually important to me, and there was a bright shining comet towards the rising Sun at dawn or the south western sky at night, what a perfect spiritually significant event to include in the telling.
Do you agree - does a comet best fit the biblical description, or do you have another theory? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below.
The planetarium
The Moon
Here are the Moon’s phases during December, along with the dates.
• Last Quarter – 5th December
• New Moon – 12th December
• First Quarter – 19th December
• Full Moon – 27th December
Mercury
The Planet Mercury will be at greatest elongation December 4, 2023, this means it will be at its furthest point relative from the Sun. Best chance will likely be December 14 and 15, 2023. Mercury will lie to the crescent moon’s lower right, very close to the horizon. Mercury is fading as it heads back towards the Sun, moving to its inferior conjunction (when the it lines up between the Sun and Earth) on 22nd December. Of course we will lose sight of it during this time.
Venus
Venus continues to be the "Morning Star" in December, but it is slowly transitioning back towards being an evening object. A great chance to see Venus is on December 25th as Venus will be shining like a brilliant star in the east within the constellation of Libra, rising nearly three hours before the Sun. It really will be impossible to miss her.
Mars
Mars is currently impossible to view as it passes directly behind the Sun from us. We will see the red planet again in the New Year.
Jupiter
Bright Jupiter is visible all night long as he rises majestically in the East after Sunset. Just look for the brightest star in the sky, and that'll be him. Jupiter will also come very close to the Moon on 21st December near the constellation of Aries, but you really shouldn't need much help spotting it.
Saturn
Saturn is now setting before midnight, but with these longer night skies you can still catch a glimpse of the ringed planet if you look due south from early evening. A good opportunity to see Saturn is on 17th December, as the planet will be above the Moon from about 5pm onwards. The only other bright star near to Saturn would be Fomalhaut in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish), so you shouldn't have too much trouble seeing Saturn, as long as you don't wait until late evening.
Uranus
With dark clear skies, Uranus is visible for the entire month of December below the constellation of Aries. Just look down from Aries' lowest star, Botein. Uranus will be a very pale greenish disc in the view finder of a small telescope. Try to avoid the bright Moon of the 23rd and 22nd of December, as this will likely drown out the dim ice giant.
Neptune
In December you can find Neptune in the constellation of Pisces, just below the Circlet of stars and a 20 degrees or so east of Saturn. As always, use a telescope, there is no chance to see the planet with the naked eye.
Thanks to
Much of the research in this month's edition came from several sources including BBC Sky at Night Magazine, EarthSky.org, MoonGiant.com and Wikipedia.
Next Month’s Preview
Next month, Stellar Cartography will look at the January skies, including a closer look at Nebula.
What did you think of this edition of UFP Stellar Cartography? Let us know in the comments below.
WRITTEN BY WoorLord
EDITED BY WoorLord
IMAGES SOURCED FROM Wallpaper Mania - Pintrest.co.uk - MoonGiant.com - ESA
Looking forward to next month!