Did the Star of Bethlehem exist?

The Star of Bethlehem – nowadays often just called the Christmas Star – is a major seasonal symbol throughout the world. Some astronomers believe the bright star is Regulus near the Leo I Dwarf Galaxy. Photo credit is from Chris Cook.

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Imagine, if you will, the silhouettes of three regally attired men on camels. They are gazing across gently rolling hills or dunes of white, to a tiny solitary building in the distance. The night is dark, and one exceedingly bright star appears to hover over the small building, sending a bright shaft of light earthward to illuminate its outline. Another light glows gently inside.  Astronomers argue that stars to not move this way, and fundamentalists feel the star was not a natural phenomenon.  The image is derived more from imagination and greeting cards than from the one place the Star is mentioned in the Bible, Matt 2:2, 7:10.  “When they (wise men) had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”

The card below adds an asteroid with the star.

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