NASA astronomer reckons he is discovered the true ‘Star of Bethlehem’ that guided the smart males
A NASA astronomer has claimed the famous star of Bethlehem was likely a known interstellar object, citing ancient Chinese records of a “broom star” seen in 5 B.C. around Jesus’ birth
The mystery around the iconic Star of Bethlehem may have been finally solved, as a NASA boffin claimed he knows what it is. The astronomer’s theory, based on ancient Chinese records, could explain how the celestial entity guided the wise men to baby Jesus.
The Star of Bethlehem famously appeared in the night sky over 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the star guided three wise men, or magi, all the way from the East to Bethlehem, where they found the newborn baby and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The star has since become a classic symbol of Christmas, often seen topping trees, but its true nature has remained a mystery for centuries, until now.
Mark Matney, a planetary scientist with NASA, has suggested a theory focusing on a comet. According to a new study published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Matney pointed to ancient Chinese records from 5 B.C. that mention a mysterious “broom star”, an old-school term for a comet, thanks to that trademark tail.
Matney’s realisation came years ago while working at a planetarium Christmas show. The planetarium script said no known object could behave the way the Bible describes, rising in the sky, then coming to a halt overhead, the Scientific American reported.
But Matney had another idea. As the story of the Star of Bethlehem played out, he thought: “I remember sitting there saying, ‘Oh, I know one that could do that.’”
In Matney’s theory, he suggested that the famous Star of Bethlehem could have actually been a comet that passed very close to Earth around the time of Jesus’ birth. He thought this comet may have come from the Oort Cloud, which is a distant region at the edge of our solar system full of icy objects and comets.
Comets from the Oort Cloud can travel into the inner solar system and sometimes become visible from Earth, appearing as bright, moving stars in the sky. Matney believed that if such a comet passed unusually close to Earth, it could have created the spectacular sight described in the Bible as the Star of Bethlehem.
He explained: “A comet could stay in one place if it was basically on a ‘collision course’ with Earth. That’s exactly what you would expect of an object that’s going to pass very, very close to the Earth.”
Matney’s research consequently mentions Chinese records from 5 B.C. which state a “broom star”, their term for a comet, appearing in the sky around the same time as the biblical story of Jesus’s birth.
Additionally, the Chinese records suggested this “broom star” hung around in the same constellation for a whopping 70 days, longer than most comets, leading some to think it was a nova.
Matney believes this actually backs up his theory. However, Ralph Neuhäuser, an astrophysicist in Germany, warned: “The older the record, in general, the less information is left.”
Matney admitted the evidence isn’t perfect, saying he’d love more sources to back up his claim. Meanwhile, Frederick Walter, an astronomer at Stony Brook University, said: “I’m sure this paper will not be the final word on the Star of Bethlehem, but it seems to be a worthy contribution to forensic astronomy.”
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