This is an excerpt from my book The Mystery of the Magi.
The wonderful Star of Bethlehem is one of the most enduring and endearing parts of the Christmas magi story. Carols and cards and Christmas storybooks all promote the magical mystery star that moved through the night sky, leading the wise men on an arduous journey across the desert to the humble birthplace of Jesus Christ. The enchantment of the story remains, but astronomers are quick to point out that stars don’t do that. Stars are fixed points. They don’t move across the sky from one place to another.
Of all the aspects of the magi story, the star has fascinated people most. Books speculating about the star of Bethlehem fill library shelves, but as I researched the story of the magi it became clear that investigation of this ancient story should not begin with the star, but with the magi themselves. If we know the identity of the wise men, the origin and importance of the star falls into place.
A Supernatural Miracle Star?
Bradley Schaefer, professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University has studied the Star of Bethlehem and outlines four possibilities in the attempt to identify the star. “All of the attempted explanations can be categorized as one of the following: a pious fable, an astronomical event, a…