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PhilCo126
Carpal Tunnel


Reged: 01/14/05

Loc: coastline of Belgium
New Year and the Star of Bethelem ...
      #5608024 - 01/06/13 10:29 AM
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Well it's that time of the year again and astronomers like to speculate on the bright Star of Bethelem...
A correct basis must be the exact time period and if we correct monk Dionysius Exiguus's calculations to switch from Julian calendar into Gregorian calendar, historians have found a mistake of at least 5 years.
Also important is the reign of Herod the Great who lived from -74 BC to -4 BC, so there again Jezus' birth must be minimum -5 BC... A time period which has been accepted by the NRSV - New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Of course any conjunction wouldn't have been special as people were observers in those days before light pollution.
So we're probably searching for a spectacular event which followed any conjunction (s)?
Possibilities include a comet or even a supernova:
Couldn't be Halley's comet as it passed in -12 BC and was noted by Chinese astronomers
Conjunctions for that -5 BC period
-7 BC : Jupiter & Saturnus in Pisces ( Fish)
-6 BC : Mars, Jupiter & Saturnus in Pisces ( Fish )
Followed by:
-5 BC : supernova observed by Chinese and Korean astronomers in the constellation Aquila ( Eagle )... which could probably have been the star DO Aquilae ( Long 031 Lat -11 )
Lots of probably here but it remains interesting to check this with astronomical software such as Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel or Starry Nights from a position at 31° North and 44° East...

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PhilCo126
Carpal Tunnel


Reged: 01/14/05

Loc: coastline of Belgium
Re: New Year and the Star of Bethelem ... new [Re: PhilCo126]
      #5608060 - 01/06/13 10:53 AM
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Interesting sources:
1976 - A revised catalogue of pre-telescopic Galactic novae & supernovae ( F.R. Stephenson )
1977 - The Historical Supernovae ( D.H. Clark )
1979 - The Guinness Book of Astronomy Facts & Feats ( Patrick Moore )
1997 - The Journey of the Magi: Meanings in history ( R.C. Trexler )
1999 - The Star of Bethelem - an astronomer's view ( Mark Kidger )

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Mister T
Pooh-Bah


Reged: 02/01/08

Loc: Upstate NY
Re: New Year and the Star of Bethelem ... new [Re: PhilCo126]
      #5608119 - 01/06/13 11:23 AM
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http://what-if.xkcd.com/25/

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ColoHank
Carpal Tunnel
*****

Reged: 06/07/07

Loc: western Colorado
Re: New Year and the Star of Bethelem ... new [Re: PhilCo126]
      #5608254 - 01/06/13 12:25 PM
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Quote:

Possibilities include a comet or even a supernova:
Couldn't be Halley's comet as it passed in -12 BC and was noted by Chinese astronomers
Conjunctions for that -5 BC period
-7 BC : Jupiter & Saturnus in Pisces ( Fish)
-6 BC : Mars, Jupiter & Saturnus in Pisces ( Fish )
Followed by:
-5 BC : supernova observed by Chinese and Korean astronomers in the constellation Aquila ( Eagle )... which could probably have been the star DO Aquilae ( Long 031 Lat -11 )
Lots of probably here but it remains interesting to check this with astronomical software such as Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel or Starry Nights from a position at 31° North and 44° East...




The other possibility, of course, is that it's myth.

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BillFerris
Post Laureate
*****

Reged: 07/17/04

Loc: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Re: New Year and the Star of Bethelem ... new [Re: PhilCo126]
      #5608348 - 01/06/13 01:14 PM
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Bill in Flag

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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac
*****

Reged: 09/26/05

Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA
Re: New Year and the Star of Bethelem ... new [Re: BillFerris]
      #5608381 - 01/06/13 01:29 PM
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Well, looks like we've pretty much covered all the possibilities...

I don't think we can get into this topic in more depth without boldly going where too many have already gone before.

So, thanks for the posts, and we'll leave it at that.

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