Star of Wonder

Was the Nativity star a comet or a nova - or sign from astrology?

By Melanie B. Smith
DAILY Religion Writer
Raider's News
19 December, 2004

A brilliant star shining against a black night is an enduring symbol of Christmas.

It's also one straight from Scripture. The gospel writer Matthew is specific: A star guided "wise men from the east" to the King of the Jews born in Judea.

Astronomers and Bible scholars have pondered that "star of wonder," as a hymn writer described it.

A planetarium show presented at the University of North Alabama earlier this month, " 'Tis the Season," covers a spectrum of explanations, such as the star actually being a comet.

A comet could have been a glorious sign and could have remained visible long enough for the wise men to follow, said the show's writers. But they conclude that none was recorded in the time span many scholars today give for Jesus' birth, 3 B.C. to 1 B.C.

Also, comets were usually regarded as evil omens, the researchers said.

Nova, supernova

The program also dispels novas and supernovas as possibilities. Nova means "new star" and it can flare up thousands of times brighter than normal. Supernovae are old stars that blow up in explosions, which temporarily increase their brilliance millions of times.

Either could have lasted for months and would have been dramatic to sky watchers, according to the presentation.

However, no one recorded any in that time period, and Herod, the king of Judea, and his court would have known of such an appearance, not just the wise men, the show's researchers concluded.

Star struck

So, what was the Star of Bethlehem?

"Actually, Scripture implies it was only the wise men who found something significant in the sky. Could the star's important feature have been not brightness, but the meaning the wise men gave it?" asked the researchers.

The presentation says that the wise men of Matthew were Magi, learned priests of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism. The followers of that religion expected a Messiah, as did the Jews. The Magi became linked to Babylonian culture and its love of astrology. They watched the skies constantly and believed that the movements of the planets in relation to the stars ruled men's fates.

According to the show from Loch Ness Productions, on Aug. 12, 3 B.C., a close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter occurred in the eastern sky. The planets were in the constellation of Leo the Lion, near the bright star Regulus. Both Jupiter and Regulus are associated with kingship, and the lion is a symbol for the Jews, from whom prophets said a Messiah was to come.

"Some scholars think the Magi could have interpreted this event as announcing a royal birth in Judea," said the writers.

While Venus left, Jupiter stayed in Leo, passing Regulus three times in the winter months, as if to emphasize the importance of the sign. Then, in the spring, Venus moved closer and closer to Jupiter, repeating its earlier alignment.

"Finally, on the evening of June 17, the two planets were again in conjunction in Leo ... The two planets were so close together they seemed to merge, blending their light to form a blazing beacon in the western sky."

The wise men could have viewed the sight as a "shining confirmation of their quest," according to the show's writers, mainly Jim Manning, director of a planetarium in Montana.

Rick Larson, an attorney and law professor at Texas A&M University, also makes the case for astrology. He says on a Web site that the "conjunction was so close and so bright that it is today displayed in hundreds of planetaria around the world by scientists who know nothing of Messiah."

Larson notes that Matthew records Herod having to ask when the star appeared. That is a powerful clue, Larson says, indicating that the celestial alignments were striking only when explained by the Magi astrologers, he writes at starofbethlehem.com. Larson does multimedia that The STAR Project shows.

More interpretations

Others who find explanations for the star in astrology differ in their conclusions. Astronomer Michael Molnar said he thinks the sign in the skies was an eclipse of Jupiter. That eclipse took place in the constellation Aires, which some thought ruled the Near East, including Judea.

The eclipse was not visible because of the sun's glare, but the Magi would have predicted it, Molnar said. The eclipse in 6 B.C. was one of several astrological conditions pointing to a king's birth, according to Molnar, author of "Star of Bethlehem: Legacy of the Magi."

Astronomy and physics professor William Keel of The University of Alabama is familiar with Molnar's ideas and other astrological explanations.

"I suspect that astrology may play a role in why whatever (the star) was, it didn't jump out at people," Keel said.

He said it would be a great irony of history if what got the attention of the Wise Men bordered on occultic practices.

Does it matter?

Many who believe in the Bethlehem Star as fact do not even think it was part of the workings of the Universe. Followers of the Raelean sect identify it as an alien spacecraft. Seventh-Day Adventism founder Ellen White called the star "a distant company of shining angels."

Does it make any difference if the star was natural or supernatural, or even if Matthew invented it for his account of Jesus' birth?

Responding to an e-mail query, Larson said it matters in a sense.

"Instead of the star being a myth that tends to prove the Bible is unreliable, it is a fact that tends to prove the Bible is accurate."

Larson contends that the star is part of a celestial "poem" that speaks of the Messiah's life and death.

Keel said the Gospel writer would have had no reason to fabricate something that could have been verified. But Keel said that he's not sure it matters what the star really was. The important thing is that something drew the wise men onto the scene, "representing worldly knowledge and power, contrasted to the smelly shepherds," he said.

All of the nativity story points to the importance of Advent, even a cosmic significance, said the UA professor.

Symbolic

The planetarium show concludes that viewing the Star of Bethlehem as a conjunction of planets is an intriguing theory, but involves too much speculation to offer a definitive answer. The program said it is perhaps more important to see it for what it symbolizes, "a light to banish the darkness, a hope for peace on Earth."

"'Tis the Season" is the most recent UNA show to feature the Star of Bethlehem. Tony Blose, planetarium director and chairman of the Physics and Earth Sciences Department, said the original director started offering biblical presentations at Christmas years ago.