Other theories

There are several theories - some logical, some strange - that try to explain what the mysterious "star" could have been:

Supernova . A supernova is a star which, as it were, enters a new phase of its life by exploding and emitting enormous amounts of light. In this case, the supernova could be one and would be too faint to be seen with the naked eye and in its new brightness could be of some significance to astrologers. The British astronomer David H. Clark and two colleagues announced in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal British Astronomical Society that the supernova explosion took place in the spring of 5 BC in the constellation Capricornus.

CribComet . A comet could also be seen by astrologers - there would be obvious movement in relation to the other stars in the sky.

And, depending on its trajectory, it could have sat still for a while. Since Halley’s comet appears to have appeared in 12 BC (no one knows for sure when Christ was born, although our calendar is based on his birth date of 1 AD; the best guesses are 2 or 7 BC), it’s worth noting that comets were considered harbingers of change—usually negative ones. Ancient Chinese astronomical records show that two objects were unexpectedly seen in the sky around that time. One was a comet that appeared in March 5 BC between Alpha and Beta Capricorni. Another comet appeared in March 4 BC near Altair in the constellation of Aquarius.

UFOs . Many people who believe that the traditional god or gods are actually extraterrestrial visitors have proposed that the "star" may have been an unidentified flying object - a spaceship - that guided the Magi to Bethlehem. This idea is truly ridiculous and is the only one that explains how an object could suddenly appear, move and stop over the birthplace of Jesus.

The story is Matthew's invention . It is curious that none of the other three gospel writers refer to the story of the miraculous star that so astonished Matthew. In fact, Luke's gospel is the only one outside Matthew's that describes the birth of Jesus (Mark and John go straight to his adulthood), but Luke does not mention a word about the wandering star.

So is this a star story created to establish the divinity of Jesus? Martin Gardner writes in Skeptical Inquirer magazine: "In my not-so-humble opinion, the star story is a mere myth, similar to many ancient legends of miraculous star appearances that announced great events such as the births of Caesar, Pythagoras, Krishna (the Hindu savior), and other famous dogs and deities