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The Christmas star has traditionally been associated with the spirit
of the celebration. But do we know what is so special about it? Let's explore!
The stars that appear in the sky today are the same ones that were there two thousand
years ago.
Was there a nova at the time of Jesus' birth? The exact time of His birth is not known,
but astronomers cannot place a new star appearance anywhere near the possible time. Could
it have been a shooting star? Again, the astronomers say it was not likely. A meteor lasts
only a few seconds or minutes at best. The wise men followed the star for weeks looking
for Jesus. We can rule out comets as well. They can be seen by the naked eye for a week or
months. But modern astronomers know which comets were close enough to earth hundreds and
thousands of years ago and there was no comet visible to humans around the time of
Christ's birth.
Some star gazers suggest that if we move the birth of Jesus to the springtime of 6 B.C.,
we can attribute the star to the time the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were close
together in the heavens. They formed a triangle in the group of stars known as Pisces.
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