XPost: soc.history, alt.religion.christianity   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   What was the Star of Bethlehem?   
      
   By Jonathan O'Callaghan , All About Space magazine published 21   
   December 20   
      
   Probably not a star.   
      
   Scene of an old barn in snow under a starry night sky with a single,   
   extra-bright star.   
   Was the Star of Bethlehem a star, or something else? (Image credit:   
   Marcia Straub/Getty Images)   
      
   As the well-known story in the Gospel of Matthew goes, three Magi, or   
   wise men, followed the Star of Bethlehem to Jerusalem some 2,000 years   
   ago. And after consulting with King Herod of Judea, the men found   
   newborn baby Jesus in the little town of Bethlehem. Whether such an   
   event really happened in history is difficult to prove, but if it did,   
   what was the Star of Bethlehem?   
      
   This is a question scholars have long pondered, not just from a   
   religious or historical perspective, but from a scientific one, too.   
   Plenty of theories have been proposed, from an astronomical event to   
   an astrological horoscope, but thanks to modern astronomy, scientists   
   are getting closer to an answer.   
      
   "If what is in the New Testament is a historical account of something,   
   then that historical account requires an explanation," David   
   Weintraub, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt   
   University in Tennessee, told All About Space in an email. "As an   
   astronomer, you want an astronomical explanation."   
      
   Source:   
   https://www.space.com/star-of-bethlehem   
      
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa   
   Web:  http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm   
   Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com   
   E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)