What do you know about the 'Star of Bethlehem' that was mentioned in the New Testament of the Holy Bible?

You may know a Christmas story that talks about the star of Bethelehem. That story was first told in the Bible a long time ago. Here it says, "In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star rising, and have come to pay him homage'."

Around this time of year, many people wonder about that star mentioned long ago. What's the astronomy behind the star?

Some think it was a nova (an exploding star). Other people think that the star that was written about in the Bible was actually a comet.

Most likely, the star was a planetary conjunction. A conjunction is when two or more objects appear very close together in the sky. The closer the objects, the brighter the conjunction. The conjunction of Jupiter with star Regulus happened around the time Jesus was born.

Some people would say that the star was not any one astronomical event, but simply the God of the Bible announcing the coming of Jesus.



Submitted by Gene (Florida, USA)
(December 18, 1997)



You might also be interested in:

For the Holidays...

This is a picture that the Hubble Space Telescope took of a nebula. Nebulas are clouds of gas in outer space from which stars form. Because it is red and white and green, it looks like something that could...more

What are the retrograde motions of planets in the sky?

It depends on which type of motion you are asking about. If you take a birds-eye view from the top of the solar system all the planets orbit around the Sun in a counter-clockwise (or direct) direction....more

How do Astronauts Live in Space?

Have you ever wondered how astronauts live in space? Did you know they do a lot of the same things we do here on Earth? Astronauts eat, exercise and sleep just like we do. However, their food isn't always...more

How far is the Earth from the Sun, the Moon and all the other planets? How far are all of the planets from the Sun? Do you know of a software that tracks the planets in real-time?

There is a really neat internet program called Solar System Live that shows where all of the planets and the Sun are. If you go to that page, you'll see an image similar to the one on the left. Below the...more

Is it really true that man never really walked on the Moon?

The picture of the American Flag (the one put there by the Apollo astronauts) is waving (or straight out) in the wind. How could that be possible if there is no atmosphere on the Moon? Was it some sort...more

How many planets orbit the sun?

I was wondering if there is a new planet? Are there planets (a tenth planet?) after Pluto belonging to our solar system? What are the names of the new planets discovered in the solar system? Are there...more

Did the Big Bang create any black holes? Wouldn't the universe evolve differently if some of the original energy had disappeared in black holes?

When an object has a really high energy, it can form a black hole. This is called a primordial black hole. Primordial black holes were formed near the beginning of the universe. Primordial black holes...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA