On Christmas, in the homes of believers (and not only) people, you can see a Christmas tree with a star at the top. Believers sing songs about an amazing star that led the Magi to a manger in the small town of Bethlehem, where, according to legend, Jesus was born.
The reference to the Star of Bethlehem can be found in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. However, is the Bible's description of the star fiction, or is there an astronomical truth in it? Based on the biblical story, the three wise men set out on a journey, seeing a star shining in the east - so they arrived in Jerusalem, where they told King Herod about the prophecy about the birth of a new king of Israel. In response, the king asked the Magi when the star appeared, since neither he nor his entourage probably knew it. Here we are faced with the first astronomical riddle of Christmas - how could the king's advisers know nothing about such a bright star?
In order to reach Bethlehem, the Magi had to follow strictly south of Jerusalem, however, according to the Bible, they walked strictly along the star that shone in the east. Therefore, the second riddle sounds like this: how could a star shining in the east lead the sages to the south? The North Star always leads lost travelers to the north, so shouldn't the star in the east lead the wise men to the east?
And finally, the third question: how could a star move in front of the travelers, leading them, and then stop and shine above the manger where the baby Jesus lay?
No star can behave this way, like a planet, comet, or any other bright object in the sky. We can say that the Gospel of Matthew describes a miracle, something beyond the known laws of physics. However, Matthew chooses his words very carefully and mentions the phrase "star in the east" twice, suggesting that this information is important to readers. Can you find another explanation for these words, which will not contradict the laws of physics? Oddly enough, yes.
Astronomer Michael Molnar notes that "in the east" is a literal translation of the Greek expression en te anatole, which was a technical term used in Greek mathematical astrology 2,000 years ago. The term describes a planet that rises above the horizon in the east before the appearance of the Sun. Then, literally a few seconds after the planet rises, it disappears into the rays of the morning sun. Except for these short moments, no one can see this "star in the east."
An astronomical explanation is needed here: from the point of view of people on Earth, all the stars remain in their places - they rise and set, but do not move relative to each other. However, the planets, the Sun and the Moon move through "fixed" stars - the word "planet" comes from the Greek word and means "wandering star". Although the planets, the Sun and the Moon move along roughly the same trajectory against the background of the stars, they move at different speeds, so they often overlap. When the Sun "catches up" with the planet, we cannot see it, but when it departs far enough, the planet "reappears". The moment when it appears and for the first time rises in the morning sky literally moments before the sunrise of the Sun, in astrology they call a heliacal sunrise.
Heliac sunrise - the first appearance of a celestial body after a period of invisibility - is en te anatole in Greek astrology. In particular, the appearance of a planet like Jupiter was considered symbolically significant in Greek astrology for those who were born on that day. Thus, the "star of the east" refers to an astronomical event that, in the context of Greek astrology, had a corresponding significance.
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But what about the star that shone directly above the manger? The word that usually translates to "stood over" comes from the Greek epano, which was also significant in ancient astrology. It marks the moment when the planet "stops" and changes its apparent direction from west to east. This happens when the Earth, which orbits the Sun, is faster than Mars or Jupiter or Saturn, catching up or overlapping another planet. All together - a rare combination of astrological events (a "special" planet rising in front of the Sun, the Sun being a "special" constellation of the zodiac, as well as a number of other combinations of planetary positions considered important for astrologers) - allowed the ancient Greek astrologers to see the royal horoscope and the birth of a king.
Molnar believes that the Magi were in fact very wise, they were astrologers who possessed mathematical knowledge. They also knew about the Old Testament prophecy about the birth of a new king in the family of David. Most likely, they watched the firmament for many years, waiting for parades of the planets that would predict the birth of this king. When they identified a powerful set of astrological signs, they decided it was time to find a leader from the prophecies. If the Magi of Matthew actually embarked on a journey in search of the newborn king, the bright star did not guide them - it only suggested when to begin the search.
And they couldn't find the baby in the manger. After all, Jesus was already 8 months old by the time they deciphered the astrological signs that they believed predicted the future king's birth. The sign began on April 17, 6 BC (in the morning there was a heliac rise of Jupiter, and at noon it was covered by the Moon in the constellation Aries) and continued until December 19, 6 AD (when Jupiter stopped moving westward, stopped briefly and began to move to east compared to the fixed position of the surrounding stars). In the earliest time that the wise men could have come to Bethlehem, Jesus was at least three years old.
Matthew wanted to convince his readers that Jesus was the messiah mentioned in the prophecies. Given the astrological clues in his Gospel, he must have believed that the story of the Star of Bethlehem would be compelling evidence for many in his audience.