In which direction did the Bethlehem star rise?

Answer 1

If you look to scripture as a reference, the Star of Bethlehem is likely not the

North Star (Polaris.) It mentions the star "rising in the East [sic]". Based on the

location of the viewers at the time Polaris would have been very low in the

Northern Sky, and would easily have been recognized for what it was by well

educated astronomers and astrologers, not to mention that it technically

doesn't "rise", excepting seasonal changes in position. Others have postulated

comets, supernova, and conjunctions. Others just take it as written.

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I don't have a New Testament handy, but if memory serves, I think the quote

is something like "We have seen his star in the East." If so, then that's already

a problem, because the kings were coming from the East, and traveling westward

toward their destination. Possibly a better translation might have been "We in the

East have seen his star." Also in another well-known carol: "Westward leading,

still proceeding, guide us ... " etc. If you can accept that, then some great

astronomical possibilities open up.

Comets and supernovas are not plausible. Chinese astronomers (sky watchers)

were very active at the time, we have their records, and they mention nothing

like that in the sky at the time. But planetary groupings are an intriguing

subject to contemplate.

We know that it didn't take place in December. Only one of many reasons is the

fact that that shepherds don't "watch their flocks by night" in December in that

part of the Middle East. Also, the calendar has been "adjusted" so many times

in so many ways since then, that we also know it didn't happen in the year you

get if you count back from now to the year zero. It would have been a few

years earlier than that.

The astrologers of that time, in the lands that are now the Arab/Muslim countries,

associated the constellation of Pisces with the "Hebrews". I don't know why,

or what it was about fish that reminded them of the Hebrews and the place

where the Hebrews lived, but they did.

A very rare grouping of planets occurred in the Spring of 6 BC, when Mars, Jupiter,

and Saturn all got together for several weeks ... in Pisces ... with Pisces low in

the west as the sun set and the sky became dark enough to see them. The

kings were certainly up on their Astrology, as all cultured and educated people

were at the time. Their attention would certainly have been captured by the

unusual behavior of a close group of multiple planets, located in the sign of the

Hebrews, which at the time hung in the sky overthe land of the Hebrews,

to the west of them.

And that's my candidate for the star of Bethlehem.

Answer 2

Not to put too fine a point on it... No. It's ludicrous to suggest that a star in the North (which had been there for all of recorded history) would suddenly lead people to travel West. The Star of Bethlehem almost certainly wasn't a star in the modern sense at all.

One theory has it that it was a conjunction of two or more planets, and only the Magi, who were versed in Astrology, would be likely to notice such an event. It also would have provided a clear direction, since the conjunction would have occurred at a particular time, meaning it had a particular direction... a real star would, of course, have appeared to move, being sometimes in the east and sometimes in the west, depending on what time of night you looked at it.

It's also been suggested that it was a comet, and the direction of the TAIL gave the indication of which way to travel; the comet itself would appear to move, but the tail could have pointed in roughly the same direction for months.

If you're accepting the rest of the story as literally true, it's no less implausible that the "star" was a wholly supernatural event that may not even have been visible to anyone but the Magi who were specifically intended to see it.

If you insist on a non-supernatural event, at least one Christmas song, written centuries afterward, indicates that it was visible both day and night ("it gave great light and so it continued all day and night"). This would suggest a supernova, but it's almost impossible that not one of all other accounts would mention something as spectacular as a supernova. The rest of that song is equally ridiculous from an astronomical point of view: a star "shining in the East beyond them far" would have lead them to China, not Israel, and of course no star or supernova could possibly remain in the same relative position during both day and night.

Answer 3

It is not known. The Star of Bethlehem may not even have been a star. Some hypotheses propose that it was a conjunction of planets, a comet, or a supernova. Where on the celestial sphere this star appeared is unknown as we do not actually know the date or even the year Jesus was born.

Answer 4

The Bethlehem star is traditionally believed to have risen in the eastern direction, leading the wise men to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Answer 5

The East