I am often asked around Christmas whether or not the Star of Bethlehem was a real astronomical event, and if so, what was it?
Well, I don't know, but the question provokes some fascinating speculation.
For the sake of what follows, let's at least assume that it was a real event and then let the speculation begin!
But first, let's remind ourselves of what the Bible actually says (and equally importantly doesn't say) about the Nativity.
Matthew's Gospel tells us that "there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying … we have seen his star in the east …"
It goes on to say that "When Herod the king had heard these things he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him" and later says that when the wise men departed "the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them."
The general interpretation of this is that, whatever the Star was, it was both a transient event and a pretty impressive sight.
There were a number of impressive astronomical events during the last few years BC and many of these have been put forward as possibly the Star of Bethlehem.
We'll have a look at a number of these popular theories (all of which I believe are flawed in one way or another) then I'll share my favourite one with you.
Three planets
A triple conjunction (the apparent close approach of a planet to a star or to another planet) of Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7 BC.
Astrologers of the day would have seen great significance in this.
Jupiter, Mars and Saturn appeared very close to each other in 6 BC and would also have been highly significant to astrologers.
The problem with both these events is that neither could really be mistaken for a single star.
Comets were recorded by Chinese astronomers in 5 and 4 BC. These would have been transient events, but were generally seen as predictors of disaster and it is highly unlikely that the wise men would have seen them as foretelling the birth of the King of the Jews.
Chinese astronomers also recorded the appearance of a nova (a star that suddenly flares up to many times its normal brilliancy before fading back to less than its original brightness) in 5 BC that was visible for 70 days or more.
But that would have stayed in or near the same constellation - it would not have moved.
But in the years 3 and 2 BC an amazing series of astronomical events took place.
On 12 August 3 BC Saturn and Mercury came to less than a degree of each other, and on 12 June Saturn and Venus came to within about 1/10th of a degree of each other.
But finally on 17 June in 2 BC, Venus and Jupiter were less than 6 arc-seconds (1/600th of a degree) apart, and certainly would have looked like one extremely bright star!
Surely this must be the prime contender for the Star of Bethlehem? Well, maybe not. Most scholars believe that Herod died in 4 BC, so this visually amazing astronomical event occurred two years after his death! So are we any further forward?
Bible story
Let's go back to the biblical accounts of the event.
We've looked at Matthew's gospel; let's see if Luke's gospel can give us any more clues.
It tells us about "shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night" but there is no mention of them seeing the star! Surely if it had been a comet, a nova or a close conjunction the shepherds and thousands of other people would have seen it?
But looking again at Matthew's gospel, despite the fact that the wise men followed the Star both before and after meeting Herod, neither Herod nor any of the population of Jerusalem seem to have seen it either!
So what's the explanation? Well, here's my favourite theory.
It's a bit complicated but here goes.
The wise men were almost certainly themselves astrologers - magi - and would have been able to predict certain astronomical events.
In 1995 the American astronomer Michael Molnar showed that there had been a double occultation of Jupiter (i.e, Jupiter was covered by the Moon) in March and April of 6 BC.
These would be highly significant astrological events to the magi, and they occurred in the part of the sky that the magi described.
But the reason they weren't seen by Herod, the people of Jerusalem or the shepherds is because these particular occultations occurred during daylight!
So in lots of ways this event meets all the criteria best.
It occurred in the right part of the sky; it occurred when Herod was still alive; it was transient and the fact that there were two occultations a month apart made the phenomenon appear to move; and it explains why no one else saw the star.
In fact even the wise men wouldn't have seen it either; but as they were the only ones that knew it was happening perhaps the story means that they "saw" it metaphorically! I like it!
Watch the Christmas skies!
Martin Humphries.
