The Star of Bethlehem is a well know reference to those raised in societies influenced by the Christian faith, being a key component of the ubiquitous ‘nativity scenes’, and the theme of many Christmas carols. Yet, for such a well known and heavily discussed phenomenon, the word star (in the context of Jesus’ birth) is used only four times, and only in the account of Jesus’ birth given in the Gospel of Matthew (no reference is made in the other three gospels, Luke, Mark or John[ii]). Accordingly, any attempt to define the exact nature of the star is fraught with danger, due to the paucity of facts available. Nonetheless, many people hold that such a star did exist, and many theories of its true nature have been presented.
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking “Where is the child who has been King of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage… Matthew 2:1-2 Then Herod secretly called the Magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Matthew 2:7 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at tis rising, until it stopped over the place the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. Matthew 2:9-10[i]
To discuss the possible astronomical phenomenon that may have been interpreted as the star of Bethlehem, we need to accept that: a) the described event actually occurred b) that the phenomenon witnessed was not a ‘miracle’ outside the description of science Having accepted these two precepts, we can focus on two potential avenues. Firstly we can seek confirmed astronomical phenomenon that is know to have occurred around the time of Jesus’ birth – those that are shown in independent records. Alternately, we can seek astronomical phenomenon that were not recorded elsewhere, but still meet the required criteria. The first avenue is clouded by the uncertainty over the actual birth date of Jesus[iii]. Modern scholars agree on a date between 7 and 4 BC[iv]. Any potential phenomenon must have occurred in this date range. Further difficulty is added by not knowing at what time of year Jesus’ was born (which has important implications for the position of stars, planets and general viewing conditions). The biblical reference to ‘shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night’(Luke 2:8)[v] is interpreted by some researchers to indicate spring time (March to May in the area concerned), however, this is dismissed by others[vi] Taken literally, the only explanation for the star could be an actual star (the bible names it specifically). For a star to meet the criteria, it must:
- be of sufficient distinction to draw attention to itself as a sign (although the bible makes no mention of it being particularly bright)[vii]
- appear for a significant amount of time - the time for the journey from the east by the wise men (or Magi as they were known) to Bethlehem, via Herod[viii]
- alternately, appear (to initiate the journey), disappear (or diminish) and then reappear shortly after, t(o lead the Magi to Bethlehem after their meeting with Herod). This series of events is compatible with the Protoevengelium of James “And the Magi said: ‘We saw how an incredibly great star shone among these stars and dimmed them, so they no longer shone’ … And behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them”
More difficult is the requirement for the star to ‘stop[ped] over the place the child was’. Candidates for such a star fall into three categories:
- Super novae – brilliant explosions marking the death of high mass stars
- Novae – periodic flaring of stars, resulting from the accumulation of mass by a white dwarf with a companion star
- Variable stars – stars whose luminosity varies on a regular basis
The third option can be readily eliminated, as such stars would still be visible today (and indeed throughout recent history). Also, the luminosity changes are difficult to discern with the naked eye, and would also not constitute an unusual event. The first option is highly appealing, as super novae do make for spectacular phenomenon, and persist for some time after the initial appearance. However, their brilliance is also their downfall, as they would be visible to many other societies, and particularly Chinese astronomers, who kept much more thorough records than their middle-eastern counterparts[ix]. As China and the Middle East cover similar latitudes, a phenomenon visible in one region would be visible in the other. Also, supernovae leave remnants (the Crab Nebulae being an example), of which none have been discovered that support the appearance of a supernovae around this time. Novae offer a more likely candidate, because their physical properties: increasing greatly in brightness, decreasing in brightness over time (several month or more[x]), not being highly regular (some novae have short periods, but most are greater than several hundred years[xi]). Further, as the white dwarfs that trigger novae are not normally visible to the naked eye (although their companion star may be), they seem to literally appear from nowhere[xii] (and disappear again). Focussing on a star as the only explanation places undue emphasis on the term as used in Matthew, particularly as the work is not a scientific one, and distinction of heavenly bodies at the time was quite rudimentary. If we treat the reference to a star to mean any bright heavenly body, the field is opened for a greater range of potential explanations. Comets are often presented as potential candidates, with Halley’s comet often nominated, despite its period not coinciding with the likely time frames[xiii]. There are two references in Chinese and Korean astronomy to support such an object around 5 BC. Termed a “Po-hsing”, a ‘bushy star’, referring to tail-less comets, but may have also applied to stars (although the term “K’o-hsing” – ‘guest star’ was used for novas and supernovas). Meteors, whether individually or in showers or storms, can be a spectacular sight, and could be interpreted as a significant heavenly sign. Further, they are localised, and significant showers may occur very infrequently in a given location. However, their duration is usually no longer than several minutes, and certainly less than two hours. This is at odds with the continued appearance of the star upon arrival in Judea. Two such showers, marking the start of the journey, and the identification of Bethlehem would fit the requirements. However, such showers are not caused by gravel or boulder sized rocks (which would have been captured over the last 4 billion years), but rather dust sized particles, left in the path of passing comets. Records to identify potential comets are not available, but plotting the paths of comets with known periods has failed to produce suitable candidates (the difficult of identifying the time of year of Jesus’ birth complicates matters here). Whilst the regular movements of planets do not have the unique qualities that would indicate such a heavenly sign, occultations (passing in front of each other), conjunctions (planets passing each others along a north south line) and massings (planets appearing in the same region of the sky) represent fairly rare events, that could be interpreted by Magi (which is widely interpreted to mean astrologer[xiv]) as having significant portent. Added to this are occultations with the moon (a star or planet appearing at the edge the moon, particularly a darkened portion). All the possibilities suffer from several problems. Firstly, they are brief events (particularly occultations). Secondly, such alignments are visible only in certain locations, and many candidates have been ruled out for this reason. Thirdly, whilst some are bright and spectacular, many others are difficult to see, due to planetary phases and the relative location of the earth and the sun. Finally, whilst unusual, planetary alignments would be common enough to those who studied the skies routinely (as the Magi are likely to have done), and determining which one heralded a great event would be difficult. A final theory favoured by some researchers is the occurrence of a triple conjunction. Such an event is not a conjunction of three planets, but rather a series of conjunctions, involving two superior planets (Jupiter and Saturn being the most likely candidates). In such a case, the planets approach each other three times, being a product of the different rotation speeds of Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. A triple conjunction did occur in 7 BC, and the period of time between the first and third crossings may coincide with the commencement of the Magi’s journey and their arrival in Bethlehem. Finally, there is a non-astronomical option… MANDY Well, what are you doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me. WISE MAN #1 We were led by a star. MANDY Or led by a bottle, more like. Go on. Out! Life of Brian, Monty Python
[i] Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, 1995 [ii] Two other works, the Protoevangelium of James and the Epistle XIX of Ignatious, make reference, but are no included in the biblical canon [iii] This essay will avoid discussing the validity of this event having ever occurred in the first place. [iv] The original calculations for the date of Christ’s birth were made by Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525. However, the exclusion of 4 years of Caeser Augustus reign, and the exclusion of the Year 0, meant an error of 5 years. Future adjustments to the calendar (such as the adoption of the Gregorian reform in 1582) have added to the uncertainty. [v] Note that the shepherds were not mentioned in Matthew’s gospel [vi] “Common Errors in ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Planetarium Shows”, John Mosley, http://www.griffithobs.org/IPSChristmasErrors.html [vii] However, the Epistle XIX of Ignatious states “Its light was unspeakable and its novelty caused wonder”, and the Protoevangelium of James talks of “an indescribably great star” [viii] Most scholars believe that the Magi were from either Babylon or Persia, involving a journey of at least 1 month. Ethiopia is also cited as a potential location. [ix] Most notably the Babylonians [x] Kaufmann, W. and Freeman, R., “Universe”, p.582, W.H,Freeman and Company, New York, 3rd Edition, 2000 [xi] Kidger, M., “The Star of Bethlehem – An Astronomer’s View”, p. 233-234, Princeton University Press, 1999 [xii] Nova is Latin for ‘new’ [xiii] 12 BC was the nearest passing of Halley’s comet [xiv] Kidger, M., “The Star of Bethlehem – An Astronomer’s View”, p. 168, Princeton University Press, 1999
