For centuries, some astronomers considered the Bethlehem star to be a real celestial object and tried to find possible astrophysical explanations. At the same time, they took into account the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, because 2,000 years ago, astronomy and astrology were the same.
In many images, the Star of Bethlehem resembles a comet. But there are many reasons for doubt. Comets are not like stars, and then people were not stupid. The most obvious candidate is Halley's comet, which appeared several years before the described birth. In addition, comets are usually associated with hazards, but here everyone was happy.
Another theory claims that this is a new or supernova. Initially, this idea was supported by Kepler, but we have no documented evidence. This does not mean that it was not. In the end, then people did not always read the objects correctly. There is an assumption that as a star they perceived the planets located nearby. In the 7th year BC. er (before Christ’s birth) Jupiter and Saturn met three times. A year later, Mars joined them. This was followed by whole unions in 3-2 years. BC e .: Saturn and Mercury, Saturn and Venus, Venus and Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. Then Mercury reunited again with Venus, and they seemed to be the most accessible to human vision.
Then Jupiter moved on to the constellation Virgo and could be seen directly above Bethlehem. But even here there is no accurate evidence. Probably, we will not be able to get an accurate answer. However, some do not stop trying.
