Was the Christmas Star real?

Star of wonder, Star of night
Star with royal beauty bright

With your Christmas trees all decorated, one bright Star stands atop the tree, with its beauty shining this Christmas Eve. But, did the Three Wise Men actually follow a Christmas star?

A sudden appearance (and a sudden loss!) of a star couldn’t have been possible. So, what was that bright light on the birth of Jesus? The science (although, we’re not leaving out the possibility of divine intervention) says it all.

Possible Reason 1: A Bright Comet

Comets could easily be mistaken as stars because of their brightness. Additionally, some comets can be seen in the night sky for long periods of time (the Great Comet of 1811 lasted about 260 days!). Better yet, ancient Chinese records have possible sightings of comets on 5 BCE and 4 BCE, just around the time Jesus was born!

Possible Reason 2: A Nova or Supernova

These bright “new stars” can be brighter than Venus or Jupiter in the night sky. Coincidentally, Chinese and Korean astronomers noted a nova around 5 BCE, although it wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

Possible Reason 3: A Planetary Conjunction

Astronomers know of a rare triple alignment, or planets approaching each other closely thrice, of Jupiter and Saturn around the time of Jesus’ birth. A triple alignment is quite rare — it occurs only once every 900 years. That’s quite fitting for the Saviour’s birthday!

References

Bawden, T. (2017). Explained: The science behind Christmas. iNews. https://inews.co.uk/news/science/explained-science-behind-christmas-112819

Chester, C. (1993). The star of Bethlehem. Imprimis, 22(12). Retrieved from https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-star-of-bethlehem/

Davenport, K. (2015). What can science tell us about the star of Bethlehem? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-can-science-tell-us-about-the-star-of-bethlehem-51773

Koberlein, B. (2016). The astronomy behind the star of Bethlehem. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2016/12/19/the-astronomy-behind-the-star-of-bethlehem/?sh=b0a885f3a6d6