Star of Bethlehem mentioned in Bible a bright comet? What NASA researcher says

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Star of Bethlehem, a celestial phenomenon that guided the Magi to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has fascinated people for centuries. Also known as the Christmas Star, it represents a divine sign for Christians, announcing the arrival of the Messiah, a beacon of hope in darkness.

According to the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, this shining celestial object led the Wise Men from the East to Jesus' birthplace. The Star of Bethlehem has puzzled astronomers, historians, and theologians for centuries.

Now, NASA researcher Mark Matney has proposed an explanation. Matney, a planetary scientist, suggests the "star" might have been a comet that came extremely close to Earth over 2,000 years ago.

Published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, the latest analysis examines a cosmic object documented by ancient Chinese astronomers in 5 BC, a bright comet that was visible for more than 70 days. Matney's theory offers a fresh perspective on the Star of Bethlehem, fitting the unusual behaviour described in the Bible.

While historians debate about the exact date of Jesus' birth, some place it between 6 BC and 5 BC. As per Matney, a comet from the mysterious Oort Cloud could have passed very close to Earth. He believes that this could be the 'Star of Bethlehem' that led the Magi to the baby Jesus.

If such a comet comes this close to Earth, it may seem like a starlike object rising in the daytime sky before appearing to stand still for a few hours. "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 was quoted as saying by the Scientific American magazine.

Matney conducted his research by looking at Chinese records of a "broom star," which has often been used to refer to comets due to its active tail and was seen in the spring of 5 BC.

“This is the first astronomical candidate for the Star ever identified that could have had apparent motion corresponding to the description in Matthew, where the Star ‘went before’ the Magi on their journey to Bethlehem until it ‘stood over’ where the child Jesus was,” Matney wrote in his study.

However, other astronomers are less confident about the theory. According to Ralph Neuhäuser, an astrophysicist at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany, the Chinese record could be misleading. "The older the record, in general, the less information is left," he 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,” according to Frederick Walter, an astronomer at Stony Brook University.

Matney's analysis of the Star of Bethlehem is not new. In fact, approximately 400 scholarly interpretations of the Star of Bethlehem have been proposed over the centuries. In the meantime, Matney's comet hypothesis adds a fresh, scientifically credible chapter to one of history's most persistent mysteries.