Good Idea/Bad Idea

I'm always a fan of taking superstitious nonsense and replacing it with rational options, so in a sense, I'm quite happy to see this presentation by the Morehead Planetarium in North Carolina, in which they address the mythical Star of Bethlehem. However, if they're going to try and do such a thing, they should at least make sure to get the science right.

The article says it explores possible "astronomical explanations for the Star. Viewers can decide for themselves whether a blazing comet, an exploding or shooting star, a major eclipse, or a conjunction of planets might explain the reported event."

Seriously. A shooting star? Why is this even being brought up as a potential option. Shooting stars are meteors that zip across the sky in often less than a second. I hardly see any magi being able to chase that down.

The rest of their options have a similarly pointless approach. If it's anything outside our own atmosphere, then it's going to move. Funny that whole rising in the east, setting in the west thing. The only way something like that could not move (and thus allow the wise men to be able to follow it) was if it were near the North Celestial Pole (i.e. Polaris, the North Star).

This would rule out anything in our own solar system since the NCP is pretty far away from the plane of the solar system. Thus, about the only viable astronomical events left are novae (including the super variety). This sounds pretty good to me. A supernova in our galaxy could well be near the NCP.

But there's still another glitch. It would always look like it was still further North. Matthew 2:2 says:

"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

So it looks like that's not going to work either. Additionally, such an event would have been visible in many more places and there are no other historical records confirming what would undoubtedly have caused a stir.

"Star in the east" does have somewhat of a familiar ring to it though. Since things rise in the east, the east is the direction by which morning comes. The planet Venus has two other names: Lucifer and Noctifer. The former means the morning star, whilst the latter means the evening star. Could it be possible that Venus was the "star" they observed since when it appears in the east, it only rises a relatively short distance before the sun rises? Sure. But only if you want to believe that ancients were completely ignorant of Venus before hand. Other sources have pointed to Jupiter, another planet that often appears as a bright star like object in the skies. But I would dismiss this for the same reason. Both Venus and Jupiter (although not understood) were familiar astronomical sights and both would have been visible either before or after (depending on whether or not it was in retrograde motion) ruling out the notion that it could have been a novel event.

Thus, the Star of Bethlehem does not have a good astronomical explanation. But this doesn't mean there isn't a good rational one: It never existed. Like so much of religious history, this event is likely either an exaggeration or fabrication, much like Sampson killing 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass in Judges 15. But somehow, I doubt this is the track the planetarium show will be taking.

Instead, I suspect they will make the same conclusion I did in the first part (no credible astronomical explanation) but then given credence to the inane philosophy of "if we don't know, that means your nonsense is credible!"