For the astronomer in you, take a peek at
Here are a few helpful astronomical tidbits that answer those wondering about the star of Bethlehem.
1. Many people don’t notice major astronomical events—mostly because these events happen at night when everybody’s asleep.
2. Few folks have the staying power required to accurately record unusual sky objects in the dark, so they shrug off that oddball.
3. Does anyone know that stars come in different colors based on their chemical makeup? Give your eyes time to adjust to the dark so you can see the reds, pinks, oranges, blues, greens, and purples. Oh and our sun is yellow with a hint of green.
4. Whoever thinks about why the sun and stars rise in the east and set in the west? The earth has a retrograde rotation; i.e. counterclockwise meaning the sun has to come up in the east.
5. Is it possible the three wise men, meaning they were educated, kept traveling west to keep that star from slipping below the western horizon?
6. The bane of all astronomers hunting that unfamiliar object in the dark sky is light pollution. Surely torches and fires of a major cities like Jerusalem would have made seeing the star impossible, even for the Magi.
7. Finally, “unfamiliar object” is the catch phrase. There just aren’t enough serious observers out there to notice that a new “star” has appeared in Scorpio (comet Lovejoy).
By the way January 6 is the traditional Feast of the Three Kings, although the Catholic Church will celebrate it this Sunday, January 8.
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