The basis of the biblical "Star of Wonder" has long been a subject of astronomical wondering as well. Skywatching columnist Joe Rao reviews the tradtional and not-so-traditional explanations.

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According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Star of Bethlehem guided three Magi, or wise men, to Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago. After consulting with King Herod of Judea, the men followed the star to ...

In late December 2022, social media users shared a copypasta post that claimed the "Star of Bethlehem" would shine shortly after sunset on Dec. 21 for the first time since the year 1226. Here's a ...

The story of the Star of Bethlehem appears only in the Book of Matthew. The gospel tells us that a bright star appeared in the eastern sky when Jesus was born, famously seen by a group of wise men.

The nova of 1604 was observed by Kepler, one of the greatest of all astronomers, and he was the first to suggest that the Star of Bethlehem might have been such an object.

The famous Star of Bethlehem may not have been a star at all, but an extremely rare planetary alignment, according to a University of Notre Dame professor. Grant Matthews, professor of theoretical ...

It wasn’t a star, he says, but an incredibly close conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter. If you saw the very close pass of the two planets on December 1, 2008, then you know how striking ...

Even if the author of Matthew felt the Star of Bethlehem was accurate history and not pious fiction, we'll likely never know the particular event they had in mind. Paper: Chester, Craig.

Yet another possible explanation for the Star of Bethlehem is the three-times passing of Jupiter and Saturn between May and December in 7 BC; a rare triple or "great conjunction." ...

A variety of celestial spectacles have been proposed as the Star of Bethlehem. The famed 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested it was a nova, a temporarily ultra-bright star.