Whether the star of Bethlehem for a scientific explanation?

according to the Bible, a large and bright star led the three learned men from the eastern countries to the newborn Jesus. Whether it is a star metaphor, or was the sky a couple thousand years ago, some astronomical phenomenon, which ends up in Matthew's gospel, Bethlehem star?

That's the question astronomers are crunching a lot. In recent years, it is threshed, inter alia, in u.s. Lowell observatory (you move to another service)and the scottish St Andrew's university. (you move to another service) Usa Vanderbilt university astronomy professor David Weintraub put forward their own arveluitaan The Conversation -the journal (you move to another service).

the Topic has been done hundreds of studies, but the answers are hard to find unless you know where roughly to look. Although historians are largely in agreement that Jesus was a real person, his birth year, let alone months is not known.

Census and tax lists, such as contemporary knowledge of bracketing is found in 1-8 before our era.

Kiisikö the earth over those years a bright comet? It would be a good candidate for messenger, for comets have been held in many cultures of change as a messenger. Contemporary book entry data on a comet, however, does not find.

Supernova or Jupiter?

whether the star of Bethlehem then a supernova?

Already astronomy a great man Johannes Kepler suggested 400 years ago, that the three kings directed the bright exploding star. But the problem is again the same: contemporary records are missing.

One possibility is investigated jupiter's passage from behind the Moon and Jupiter appeared in the same night sky until the morning Sun behind.

the Extraordinary phenomena at the same time aroused certainly astrologeista enthusiasm, because Jupiter was the royal planet of.

Astronomy and astrology were at the time one.

Or after all the conjunctions?

the most Popular explanation for the star of Bethlehem is a planetary conjunctions. That's at least two planets is Earth in the same segment of the. In years 1 to 8 bc. fit several two-planet conjunctions and one of the three, too.

the British Sheffield university astronomer David Hughes dare to use in the 1970s in the journal Nature (you move to another service) published the study "probably"-the word, which usually requires the scientific community, already quite a consensus of the screen should stick.

according to him, the explanation of the star of Bethlehem was Jupiter and Saturn approach each other three times in a short period of time. Conclusions on the basis he calculated Jesus was born of August the year 7 bc.

Hughes ' research has more than four decades. His answer has not received confirmation that its different than any other star of Bethlehem from the presented hypotheses.

Perhaps this is a question to which no answer is heard, exist, muses St Andrew's university observatory from leading astronomers Aleks Scholz own reflections.

Fixed at 7.20 a.m.: the Moon behind, not across it.

the Case is part of yle's News and current affairs activities, science news of the christmas calendar. We publish daily science news, which is associated with this time of the year – directly or at least bend through. The last door opens on christmas eve.

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