For the first time in 800 years, the most-awaited Christmas Star would shine on Sunday albeit only for a brief time. After one year of COVID-19, others see a Christmas star as a symbol of optimism. People have for generations looked at the sky as a means of leading them.
Experts clarified why this specific alignment has drawn so much global interest in advance of the unprecedented Jupiter and Saturn combination on Monday, December 21, 2020. Is it another variant of Bethlehem's Biblical Star? Here's what the professionals may claim.
Not a Star of Bethlehem: Is Christmas Star Misleading Us?
It is assumed that a star brought the three Wise Men to Bethlehem in the 6th century B.C.E. where they discovered the freshly born Jesus Christ.
Astronomers have attempted for decades to discover the reality behind this astronomical phenomenon and what it may relate to. Some scientists assume that the brilliant 'Bethlehem Star' was simply a Monday-like celestial alignment, though maybe between multiple planets, such as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.
An incident close to this year's Christmas Star might clarify what was seen then, said Sky & Telescope's observational publisher Diana Hannikainen.
But Patrick Hartigan, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University in Texas, claims that we might have been less than pleased if we had gone back in time to look at the celestial conjunction that happened that year.
It wouldn't seem to be something remarkable from a contemporary observer's point of view, Hartigan said, if we had to go back and look at the conjunction. He said there was no dazzling star, adding that it was not particularly impressive.
There were some fascinating facets of the conjunction that happened during the time of the Magi. It seems like three planets were aligned at once, but according to Hartigan, they were between eight and nine times further removed from Earth than the one that took place this year.
The alignment of this year would not appear like a single white star, either. The two planets, one lighter than the other, would appear as two objects.
The notion that this is the "Christmas star" is often deceptive, said Billy Teets, operator and outreach astronomer at the Vanderbilt Dryer Observatory in Tennessee.
If this had occurred every other year at any other time of the year, Teets argues that this divine occurrence will certainly not be named a 'Christmas star,"
These types of occurrences, he said, only because they're so unusual, that's what attracts the interest of people.
Much More Than a Planetary Alignment
While the research underlying these kinds of occurrences is focused on their work, astronomers prefer not to shy away from the cultural importance that people attribute to astronomical artifacts.
Hartigan claims that there is something mote convincing to see something in the sky is occurring. He said that life is even greater than understanding what life's details are.
Hartigan claims that heavenly experiences like this bind people to the realm of nature and gives a sense of time and space. This unusual conjunction will be observed next time in 60 years, in the year 2080. Over centuries, Teets, says, these incidents bind us with our friends.
Both Hartigan and Teets said that this connection is going to be a once in a lifetime experience for a number of people. Teets noted that this astronomical phenomenon is a nod to the past and that it is also a strong link to the future.
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