Searching for the Star of Bethlehem…or something else!

Today’s question is…was the Star of Bethlehem a real astronomical object?
Well, many religious scholars believe it never existed, at least, as a physical object, or even as a sort of astrological omen.
In some cases, I prefer consider both religion and science seriously and, even if the mixing of these two is shaky, sometimes it can be helpful, and science should be present whenever it can be considered.
For example, when the Shroud of Turin controversy raged, the use of Carbon-14 dating provided an unambiguous answer: The cloth that once supposedly covered the just-crucified body of Jesus proved to be less than a thousand years old, and it wasn’t the real shroud, but a hoax from the Middle Ages.

It sounds good, but the Christmas Star is a different story, and actually It’s not meant to be proven through science.
You don’t need some scientific explanation for the Star: you have faith, or not.
Moreover, every astronomer knows you can’t get anywhere by following something in the sky, as earth’s rotation quickly makes the contents of the heavens change position.
Whether planet or supernova, everything rises in the east, arcs rightward during the night, and sets in the west.
In short, just to be clear, you’d go in a giant semicircle if you followed any celestial object.
Moreover, no astronomical body can come to a screeching halt over Bethlehem (or anywhere else).
Actually the only place where objects don’t move is in the middle of the northern sky, where Polaris hangs motionless.
But that eliminates planets, which are never in the north, and besides, the Magi weren’t going north to get to Bethlehem, but southwest.
So, what was this Star that, according to Matthew, “Went before them, and stood above where the Christ child lay”?
In popular belief, the Star of Bethlehem is shown as a comet and, interestingly enough, most religious leaders believe the bright star never existed as a physical object.
Instead, when the account was written fifty years after Christ’s death, it was meant as an omen or sign.
After all, great kings were accompanied by auspicious astrological configurations and, presumably, Jesus should also have one.
At that time, the sign of Aries was linked with Judea, and Jupiter was its ruling planet.
The merging of those two, as occurred in the year 6 BC when some, but not most, scholars tag the Birth, would have been precisely the kind of prophetic omen that should accompany the coming of a Savior.
Another case against its existence is simply that Luke, generally regarded by many as the most historically accurate of the gospels, never mentions there being any star.
In any case, astrology eventually fell into total disfavor with both the church and, later, with science, so that explanation is popular with neither.
Another problem with bringing up astrology is that it suggests that astrologers were correct in foreseeing the Birth.

On the other hand, sticking with strictly astronomical explanations as a comet, a conjunction, a supernova or something else, is really scientifically wrong, and all this has nothing to do with religious faith.
If you believe the Magi were led by an actual star, it’s ok, but why not a star only the Wise Men could see?
After all, suggesting that some natural celestial object just appeared at the right place and then just happened to stop and hover over the manger is already a miracle.
So why introduce a scientific explanation?
And then, also religion is similarly mistreated because the search for a real Christmas Star suggests that faith is unnecessary because there’s some rational scientific explanation for the Star.
In short, neither science nor religion is well accepted!

Either way, It has become entrenched tradition, to believe Jesus was born at night and three Wisemen showed up with gifts for him.
And what if the “star of Bethlehem” was the Star of the Earth, or more simply, our Sun?
Science proves that every day.
We all have “faith” that the Sun will rise in the east and set in the west and, not by chance, the Sun give life to the Earth, and it represents Jesus, the Light of the world.
Plus, the Magi were astrologers, and astrologers back in ancient times predicted the future trends.
Sun Sign Astrology is what you read in the last pages of almost all newspapers, as the signs of the zodiac reflect when the Sun is between a certain collection of stars in the zodiac belt and earth.
Historically, this could have meant the Wise Men saw something most special in an alignment of planets, well before that day came, and, they told the King of Persia about it.
Ok, most likely also with angelic assistance, a visit from Gabriel, who most likely was the one who told the Magi to return home via a different route, to avoid being stopped by Herod, but they knew the future birthday alignment that calculated was that of the Messiah promise to the Israelite people.
Most likely, the Magi were descended from Jews in captivity in Babylon, who remained to advise the Persian king, but had long lost their deep knowledge of Scripture.
However, they could have been men of deep faith in the One God, knowing astrology was a useless tool unless a divine entity guided their understandings of planetary alignments.
This could also have meant there was no traveling by night, which is unwise, because Jesus himself said, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world. But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.” (John 10:9-10) and, when the angel appeared to the shepherds who tended their sheep by night, not by chance the Jewish clock says there are twelve hours of day (6:00 AM to 6:00 PM) and twelve hours of night (6:00 PM to 6:00 AM). So It is not always dark at 6:00 PM.
And no boys end flocks of sheep at night!
The shepherds tended their flocks after 6:00 PM because it was still light outside and they led the flocks home to a sheepfold, where someone would watch over them after dark.
As to the time of the year, when it is still light after 6:00 PM, when Gabriel appeared to Mary and said she was pregnant with a baby to be named Jesus, it was the sixth month of the year.
And the sixth month was not the June we know, but the sixth month in the Hebrew ecclesiastical calendar, Elul, aligned with the Gregorian months of August-September.
Add nine months to that and you get the Gregorian months May-June, or when the Sun is in the sign Gemini.
Not by chance, Jesus was the Twin that had the soul of Adam within the flesh of Jesus, like a resurrected Dioscuri: Castor & Pollux, the Sons of Zeus.
When the Sun is in the months of May and June, then it stays light until about 8:00 PM.

In short, again, neither science nor religion is well served.
But no matter. And as far as the planetarium programs go, they have become a holiday tradition, so we might as well sit back and enjoy, without asking too many questions…!