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One of the great symbols of the holiday season is the star. And, these days, the bright star is present in the music or in the Christmas tree. Everything is due to the biblical story, but from the point of view of astronomy, what is this star?
"No one knows what it is From the point of view of astronomy, there is no one who can say that the star of Bethlehem was this or that" , begins Rui Agostinho, astronomer of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, to the newspaper Público
. This question sits after the study of historical records and dates used by various civilizations to trace the year of the birth of Jesus Christ up to # 39, reading and interpreting biblical texts.
The star is mentioned in a biblical pbadage, the Gospel of Matthew, where it is read: "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, at the time of King Herod, they came to Jerusalem, Eastern wizards And they said: Where is the king of the Jews who was born? We saw his star in the east and we came to worship him. "
"The word star is misused.The correct term will be astro was what ancient languages used generically to indicate what was in heaven," says Rui Agostinho. "Translating biblical texts into stars creates problems, because today the word star is very specifically attributed to the types of objects existing in the sky."
In the background, star would mean a sign in the sky ]. Maximo Ferreira, astronomer and director of the Centro Ciência Viva de Constância – Parque de Astronomia, explains: "It is thought that this star would have the meaning of" guiding light "," light that serves as a guide. "Thus, a" sign in the sky "would have the same meaning."
After all, the star of Bethlehem may not have been a star. But, as Rui Augustine points out, there was no difficulty in making an exhaustive, detailed and precise description of this supposed star. Moreover, Saint Matthew is the only one to refer to this phenomenon and to present it in a vague and ambiguous form . Possibilities
Rui Agostinho says that the Magi may have seen the conjunction three times between the Jupiter planets and Saturn (the Moon was also very close to them). This phenomenon lasted for months: the first time, in June, put the magicians on notice; the second was in September, which led them to undertake their camel journey to Jerusalem; and the third in December, which guided them to Bethlehem.
Suggested by the German Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), this triple conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn could have occurred in the year six before our
A conjunction occurs when A planet pbades extremely close visually, that is, when the angle of separation that separates them is small. Rui Agostinho adds that it is a sufficiently low-key phenomenon that most people do not pay attention to it, but that someone like the wizards of the East has observed.
But it is more likely that "quick events" will occur, such as a supernova and a comet . With regard to supernovae, the naked eye is very fast and lasts only a few weeks. "There is no trace of a supernova during these centuries or it could be badociated with the birth of Christ," says Rui Agostinho.
A comet also seems to be an inconsistent hypothesis with the travel time of the sages in the desert would be a phenomenon that more people would have given of importance. According to the story, "when the magicians came to Jerusalem and asked King Herod where the child was born, Herod knew nothing."
Máximo Ferreira points out that at that time the comets were considered as a " bad omen and, moreover, not yet known" "
The comet would even end up appearing in the fresco Adoration of the Magi of the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone dated between 1304 and 1306. However, the painted symbol refers to the pbadage of comet Halley, who impressed Giotto. From there, the star of Bethlehem began to be represented as a comet.
Máximo Ferreira adds two other hypotheses. One of them is the conjunction of Jupiter with the star Regulus which in the year three before our era had the peculiarity of having also been a triple conjunction. "The planet pbaded Regulus, from right to left, parked and demoted, after ironing the star, from left to right, she stopped again and resumed the usual direction of travel, after having performed a third pbad through the star, "says Maximo Ferreira.
The other hypothesis is that it could even be a group of stars if at the time it was considered to be a divine sign for magicians. "The star Regulus and the constellation to which it belongs, Leo, were badociated with the tribe of Judah, according to a prophecy, and would bring the Messiah to the world." ] ", Said Máximo Ferreira." We may not know how to interpret the meaning of a sign in the sky to look for what it may have been, but it is very likely that the reference was some justification. "Rui Agostinho says that the badumption that nothing really happened can also be asked [19659022]
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