The Star of Bethlehem was always a mystery to the astronomers. For Christians, it was a miracle which appeared in the sky to lead the wise men from the east to Jesus. Currently, the scientists hold the view that the miracle of Bethlehem’s Star can be a conjunction of two bright bodies in the sky.

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Artis illustration what the Star of Bethlehem could have looked like

According to the book of Matthew the Star of Bethlehem raised in the eastern sky and led the wise men to the stable where Jesus was born.

An astronomer, Michael Molnar pointed out that the term “in the east” which Matthew used, had a very technical meaning for astrology in the time of Jesus’s birth. For ancient astrologers when they refer to the term “in the east” they meant the rising of a planet above the eastern horizon just before sunrise.

The early Greek philosophers notice very early that there are two types of heavenly bodies – those who move (planets) and those who do not move (stars). The stars stay in the same place in the lifetime of a human. The planets, the sun, and the moon follow approximately the same path through the stars year after year. Due to the different distances from earth, the planets, sun and moon appeared to move at different speeds.

It will, therefore, happen that they catch up with each other and cause conjunctions. When this happens, they will appear as a very bright body in the sky.

When planets create a conjunction with the sun or pass through the sun, they will from an earth viewpoint, move temporary out of the sight. When the sun moves far enough, the planets will appear again in the morning sky. The movement explains #Venus which sometimes appears as the Evening Star and then again as the Morning Star.

In the time of Jesus birth astrology was the astronomy of the time. The movement of the planets holds a lot of meaning for them. The reappearance of a planet again after passing through the sun was known as a heliacal rising.

The heliacal rising of #Jupiter was seen by the astrologers as an indication of a significant birth like a king.

The heliacal rise of Jupiter alone will not be enough to explain the Star of Bethlehem. It needs to be a conjunction with another bright body in the sky.

The astronomers hold the view that a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus is the Star of Bethlehem.

They base their conclusion on the facts that such a conjunction happened in the time of Jesus' birth and that Jupiter and Venus are the two brights bodies outside the moon and sun.

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Venus and Jupiter (with moons) on June 30 by Geraint Smith in Taos, New Mexico.

Last year (2015), June 30 and July 1, the two planets, Jupiter and Venus, came very near to each other and appeared as two bright spots in the morning sky.

A full conjunction of these two planets is expected to happen this year (2016) in seven days from now - 27 August.

This conjunction will not be a heliacal rising as in 2 AD, but will appear before these two planets will pass through the sun. On 27 August the Star of Bethlehem will not be visible in the morning as the wise men saw it in the east, but the evening just after​ sunset in the west. – Happy star gazing.

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Artist illustration what to expect on 27 August 2016

Sources:
On this day
Venus-Jupiter conjunction August 27
Can astronomy explain the biblical Star of Bethlehem?
Spectacular Venus-Jupiter Conjunction: June 30 & July 1
Venus-Jupiter Conjunction 2016: When, Where and How to See It