All language subtitles for The Universe s08e04 Star of Bethlehem.eng

Male narrator: A strange
light in the heavens.

The star that signals
the birth of Jesus.

Is it faith, fable, or fact?

The star of Bethlehem is hard to
identify thousands of years later.

Narrator: Can we decode the
secret of the star with

the science of the universe?

What was it?

Where did it come from?

And will it return?

Ancient mysteries, shrouded
in the shadows of time.

Now, can they finally be solved
by looking to the heavens?

The truth is up there, hidden among
the stars in a place we call

the universe.

Sync and corrections by n17t01
www.addic7ed.com

Every night, as the Earth turns
away from the Sun, the stars come out.

They follow set paths across the
arc of the sky, year after year.

Stars appear to rise in the
east, move across the sky, and

set in the west, and that's
because the Earth is

rotating from west to east, and
so we just see, in a sense,

a reflection of that
rotation of the Earth.

Narrator: But some say one star
didn't obey these cosmic rules--

the star of Bethlehem.

You know the story,
or you think you do.

Three men pursue a blazing star
across the Middle Eastern desert

for a rendezvous with a miracle.

But who were the men?

And what was the star?

2,000 years ago, people didn't
have the foggiest notion

what a star was, and there
were different kinds of stars.

There were the stars.

There were the wandering
stars, which we call planets.

There were bearded or hairy
stars, which we call comets.

A star was a falling
star, a meteor.

And today we still call some of
these things by poetic terms,

like Venus is called
"The Evening Star."

Narrator: So is the star of
Bethlehem faith-based fiction,

or something that ancient
stargazers actually saw in

the skies over Judea that
modern astronomy can identify?

Was the star of Bethlehem real?

It might have been true.

It might have been a real event,
in which case we have to rely on

ancient texts, whatever
inscriptions, whatever

archeology, whatever we have
that will pin the date down

enough that we can then look
into the sky of that time to

know what the star
might have been.

If you are going to narrow
down what the object may have

been, if it was any object at
all, you have to identify what

your time period is going to be.

Narrator: Our search for the
star of Bethlehem begins just

over 2,000 years ago in the
Middle East, divided between

the rival empires of Parthia in
the east and Rome in the west.

The strategic heart of the
region-- Rome's conquered

territory of Judea, with its
capital of Jerusalem, ruled with

an iron hand by Rome's
puppet-king, Herod The Great.

There was a lot of turmoil and
discomfort among the Jewish

population in Judea with the rule
of the Romans and King Herod.

And many people were turning to
prophecies that a messiah would

appear to herald a new age
of peace and freedom.

Narrator: One day, travelers
from the Parthian Empire arrive

in Jerusalem to tell Herod
that not only is the messiah

somewhere in Judea, but they
have proof from the heavens.

"Wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is

he that is born
King of the Jews?

For we saw his star in the east
and are come to worship him.'

and when Herod the King heard
it, he was troubled, and all

Jerusalem with him."

Narrator: The wise men may
assume Herod would welcome this

information, but for
almost 40 years, Herod

has considered himself
the King of the Jews.

Now, his power is threatened by
a prophecy, an unknown child,

and a mysterious star that
centuries of astronomers have

tried to identify.

The story is told in a single
ancient text, but it's not an

eyewitness account.

The Gospel of Matthew was
written at least 80 years after

the birth of Christ.

He, early on, may have actually
been able to communicate with

people that had actually been
there or seen something,

but we do not know.

Narrator: Among the mysteries
of Matthew's Gospel...

Who are the wise men from the
east who so easily get an

audience with the King of Judea?

And why are they
talking about a star?

The answer lies in the original
Greek in which the gospel was

written, where "wise men"
is "magoi" or "magi,"

members of an ancient religious
sect, widely respected as

scholars and stargazers.

But they're not astronomers;

they're astrologers.

"Magi" comes from the same
word that "magic" does.

They were magicians in a sense.

And an important part of their
job was to look for omens, so

they could advise the king or
other people on what to do.

Narrator: Based in what is now
Iran and Iraq, the magi who

visit Herod are deeply
interested in the prophecies of

a Jewish messiah who will overthrow
the power of the Romans.

For evidence that the prophecies
have been fulfilled, they look

to the stars.

If you were an ordinary person
2,000 years ago, you are

going to see a sky full
of stars, and changing

constellations and planets
moving across those background

stars, but you will not
know what they mean.

That knowledge, and what that
portends about the fate of the

king, that is knowledge that is
jealously guarded by the astrologers.

Narrator: So the magi see
something in the sky that sends

them westward across the desert.

But here's where the story
takes an unexpected turn.

They have to ask Herod
for directions.

"'Where is He that is
born King of the Jews?'"

The star of Bethlehem didn't
actually send the magi directly

to Bethlehem.

They actually went first to
Jerusalem to visit with King Herod.

Narrator: Herod's advisors
consult ancient texts and say if

the messiah has been born,
it would be in Bethlehem.

Herod sends the magi to
Bethlehem, hoping that when they

locate the newborn messiah, he
can kill this young rival to

his power.

It's not a long
trip for the magi.

Bethlehem is less than six
miles south of Jerusalem.

Then, something
incredible happens.

"And lo, the star which they
saw in the east went before

them, till it came and stood
over where the young child was."

And this is a
difficult statement.

Narrator: The star the magi
from the east have followed

westward across the desert seems
to make a turn to the south and

stands still over Bethlehem.

No normal star moves like that.

So if Matthew's text is
accurate, then the star of

Bethlehem can't be a star.

The most challenging issue is
that it has to somehow move and

sit straight over the
position of the nativity.

That really calls for an object
in the heavens to move and

guide you and sit in front of
you, according to the story.

Narrator: One kind of star is
known to blaze bright and move

across the sky-- a falling star.

When a rock or a piece of dust
from interstellar space is

zooming through our atmosphere,
heating up and lighting up the

gases behind it, that's when you see
the brilliant meteor in the sky.

Narrator: Some believe that it
takes more than one meteor to

make the star of Bethlehem.

So there's one hypothesis-- the
star of Bethlehem was two meteors.

One that occurred first that
the magi saw that led them to

Jerusalem, and another one that
occurred over Bethlehem that led

them there.

The problem is, meteors
happen all the time,

and as a scientific hypothesis,
we can't test it because

there's absolutely no way to go
back in time and find out if

there really was even the most
spectacular meteor at just the

right moment.

Narrator: And there's another
objection to the meteor theory.

The primary problem with the
star of Bethlehem being a meteor

or meteors really has
to do with timing.

Narrator: If the wise men
come from around the city of

Baghdad, it's just under 550

miles to Jerusalem.

If they go by camel, traveling
at a top speed of 20 to 40 miles

a day, the trip would take at
least two or three weeks and

possibly much longer.

A shooting star is only going to
last in the sky for a few seconds.

The way it was written in the
Book of Matthew doesn't seem

consistent with such a
brief event like a meteor.

Narrator: But if the star of
Bethlehem isn't a meteor, could

it be something else streaking
across the ancient night?

And could there be evidence
outside the Bible in the

astronomical records of
another ancient society?

Narrator: Can modern astronomy
solve a 2,000-year-old

mystery and find the truth
behind the star of Bethlehem?

In our search for the star,
we're looking for a bright

light, guiding the magi to
Jesus, moving unlike anything

else in the sky.

If you are trying to identify
what the star of Bethlehem is,

you need to be able to
narrow something down.

[Bell tolling]

Narrator: There may be a clue
here in Padua, Italy, at the

medieval Arena Chapel.

In one wall of the chapel is a
fresco completed in 1305 by

Giotto, the father of
realistic painting.

It depicts the magi giving
gifts to the baby Jesus.

The star blazes above the
manger, and Giotto has clearly

painted a comet, and
many say, not just any

comet, but the most
famous comet of all--

comet Halley, which passes
Earth about every 76 years.

The comet is visible for
more than a month in 1301.

Giotto doubtless sees it and uses
it as the model for his fresco.

But in his art, does Giotto also
encode an ancient tradition

about the reality
behind the star?

In the 3rd century, the
Christian scholar Origen--

who himself might have seen
Halley's comet-- writes that the

star of Bethlehem might
have been a comet.

A comet is a chunk of dirty ice
a couple miles across, and

when it gets near the Sun--
which does rarely and for a

short period of time-- it
grows a tail as the Sun heats

that icy nucleus, evaporates
the ices, releases

dust that's trapped within it to
blow back and form a long and

beautiful tail.

Narrator: So was Halley's comet
visible in the Middle East

during the time when
Jesus was born?

The only eyewitness accounts
come not from the Middle East

but from 4,000 miles
away in China.

We owe a lot to Ancient
Chinese astronomers.

It was remarkable the detail
that they kept, and without

those records, we wouldn't
really know much about any of

the historical
astronomical events.

Narrator: Ancient Chinese
astronomers record a

broom star, or comet, that
we now call Halley's comet.

It shines brightly
for some two months.

People across the Middle East
would certainly have seen the

comet as well.

Now this is interesting because
comets move against the

background sky.

Narrator: If Halley's comet is
the star of Bethlehem, then

millions of people alive today
saw it when it returned in 1986,

and millions will see it when
it returns again in 2061.

But there's a problem.

The Chinese records indicate
Halley's comet appeared in

12 BC, several years before most
scholars think Jesus was born.

Like the star itself, Jesus's
birthday is shrouded in mystery.

In his gospel story, Matthew
never gives us a specific date.

When Jesus was born, people
didn't count years consecutively

like we do now.

They counted them by
the reign of emperor.

But even those dates weren't
used in local documents.

There were no birth
certificates.

Narrator: Our current division
of time into before and

after the birth of Christ is a
legacy from a 6th century monk,

Dionysius Exiguus.

Partly basing his calculations
on the reigns of Roman emperors,

the monk devises a calendar in
which Jesus is born on December

25th, 1 BC.

Six days later comes January
1st, 1 AD, for Anno Domini,

Latin for "The
year of our Lord."

But Brother Dionysius makes
some mathematical errors.

It's ironic that our modern
calendar was based on an

estimate of when Jesus was born,
and that estimate turned out to

be wrong.

Narrator: Scholars point this
out over the centuries, and in

the year 2012, the Pope agrees.

Benedict XVI acknowledges in a
book that Jesus was actually

born before 1 BC, although no
one has proof of exactly when.

Many scholars place Jesus's birth
between 7 BC and 2 BC,

and since Halley's comet appears
in 12 BC, that removes it from

consideration as the star of Bethlehem...
or does it?

One theory puts Halley's comet
center stage at a bizarre

combination of
fiction and history.

A generation after Jesus, in the
year 66 AD, another group of

magi performs a strange seance
in Rome for the Emperor Nero,

so he can ask one of his
victims for forgiveness.

That same year, Halley's comet
is seen in the skies above Rome.

When Matthew wrote his
gospel, it was 80 AD.

Now, in 66 AD, just 14 years
earlier, Halley's comet made a

close flyby of the Earth.

He would have seen it.

It would have been fresh in his
mind as a symbol in the sky when

he wrote his gospel.

Narrator: Does Matthew transfer
the historical reality

of magi visiting the tyrannical
Nero in Rome in the time of

Halley's comet to other magi
visiting the tyrannical Herod in

Jerusalem?

Is the gospel story
just a story?

Or is there another historical
comet that really could be the

star of Bethlehem?

In March of 5 BC, around the
time most scholars think Jesus

was born, the Chinese record
another comet that would have

been visible in the Middle East.

Some modern astronomers think
this comet is the star of

Bethlehem, and some people
think it's returned.

In the year 2012, a comet
streaks towards Earth.

It's called Ison.

As it gets closer, a belief
spreads across the globe and the

internet that this is the same
light recorded by the Chinese in

5 BC, the same light
that led the magi.

In early 2013, some people
thought that the comet Ison was

the recurrence of the
star of Bethlehem.

Narrator: Comet Ison doesn't
survive the journey.

700,000 miles away from the Sun,
Ison splits apart from the heat.

If Ison was the star of
Bethlehem returning after

2,018 years, then modern
astronomical instruments have

witnessed its utter destruction.

But this is one theory that's
torn apart as easily as the

comet itself.

By measuring the trajectory
of comet Ison, we've learned

that it's a parabolic trajectory,
which means it enters in our

solar system, it would have
passed by the Sun, and then

escaped forever.

This is in contrast to a
recurrent or elliptical orbit,

like comet Halley, which
will constantly return.

Ison was a one and done.

The idea that comet Ison was
the return of the star of

Bethlehem is just something that
one can dismiss out of hand.

Narrator: But many say that
no comet can be the star of

Bethlehem, because people of
ancient times looked on comets

as symbols of disaster.

Comets were bad omens.

They were omens that told us that
something bad was going to happen.

The death of somebody, a plague,
a famine, a war-- not heralding

the savior of mankind.

Narrator: Others say that
what the Chinese see in

5 BC-- near the time when
many scholars think Jesus was

born-- isn't a comet but
something even stranger.

Narrator: The star of
Bethlehem-- is it real?

If so, is the light the
magi see a new star?

Or maybe a dead one?

Our search for the star of
Bethlehem now takes us to the

city of Prague in the year 1604

and the royal astronomer.

Johannes Kepler.

He was the transition from
astrology to modern astrophysics.

He was the person that looked at
the motions of the planets and

figured out how they must
actually move in real space.

And therefore, figured out there
were actual laws governing that motion.

Narrator: In 1604, Kepler is
fascinated by a new star that

shines for over a year,
then disappears.

Kepler calls it a "Nova,"

Latin for "New star,"

but it isn't a new star-- it's
the light from a dead one,

a supernova.

A nova is a sudden
brightening of a star, and a

supernova is a much, much
greater brightening of a star.

A supernova is the explosion of
the entire star, whereas a nova

corresponds to an explosion of
only the surface layers of a star.

When you look for the
remnants of a nova, you're

basically looking for hydrogen
and helium gas emanating from

the source star.

In the case of a supernova,
you're looking for all sorts of

elements, from the lightest to
the heaviest elements that make

the appearance of, essentially,
a giant explosion in the sky.

Narrator: In 2011, a Japanese
satellite takes a closer look at

the supernova remnants, providing
new evidence about the

origin of the light
seen in 1604.

23,000 light years from Earth,
near the center of the Milky

Way, two stars are
locked in a death grip.

One is a white dwarf, a star whose
nuclear fusion has stopped.

As it draws in material from its
partner, its density and gravity

increase until it reaches
critical mass and explodes.

In 1604, the light reaches
Earth and Kepler's eyes.

He wonders if there's a link
between the nova and another

celestial event that year, a
rare conjunction of Mars,

Jupiter, and Saturn.

A conjunction occurs when
objects in the solar system

appear to be in about the same
part of the sky as viewed by us,

so there could be two planets
very close together, or a planet

and the Sun, or a
planet and the Moon.

Narrator: Kepler wonders if
somehow the unknown energies of

the combined planets had created
the new star, and if a previous

conjunction produced another star
that shone and disappeared--

the star of Bethlehem.

Kepler worked back the positions
of planets to biblical

times and realized there was a
similar grouping of planets.

Narrator: Kepler is aware of
the errors in the Christian

calendar, and that Jesus
was born before 1 BC.

He calculates that the two
largest planets, Jupiter and

Saturn, come near each
other in the year 7 BC.

And Kepler thought that
perhaps that similar grouping

had produced the
star of Bethlehem.

Narrator: Later astronomers
learn that planets don't give

birth to stars.

Kepler was a brilliant scientist,
but it was 400 years ago and

observational capabilities were
very limited, so not everything

he postulated was right.

That's the nature of science.

Narrator: But Kepler's work
jump-starts 400 years of

speculation that the star of
Bethlehem is a nova or supernova,

and there might have been a nova
sighting within the time frame

modern scholars believe
Jesus was born.

We return to the Chinese record
of the comet of 5 BC.

At least, they write it down as a
comet, but it doesn't have the

usual tail of a comet.

Some say this is because
the weather is bad and the

observations are faulty.

Others say the comet
wasn't a comet.

The comet of 5 BC could
have been an exploding star.

Narrator: One theory
identifies the 5 BC light

as a star intertwined
with a white dwarf.

A very dense white dwarf can
actually be pulling the

atmosphere of its partner away
like a vacuum cleaner onto its

surface, accumulating all
of this hydrogen gas.

Over time, as that hydrogen gas
builds up, it can actually

induce spontaneous fusion,
releasing a massive amount of

energy, which rips apart part
of the surface of that star.

Narrator: Some say the 5 BC

nova erupts again, in a burst
observed from Earth in 1925.

A star can get that extra
fuel from its companion.

It goes unstable, becomes a nova,
burns off that fuel essentially.

It starts accumulating fuel
again to perhaps happen at a

later time, so a nova can
actually repeat for a given

binary situation.

Narrator: Modern astronomers
can't pinpoint the location of

the 5 BC light based on
Chinese records, but this burst

is in the right area, in
the Constellation Aquilae.

Could the same object have
erupted twice, with one flash

seen in 1925 and another almost
2,000 years earlier, puzzling

the Chinese and
inspiring the magi?

The arguments against it is
that it's been determined

that the nova in D Aquilae
is not a recurrent event.

Additionally, the spectral
emission from that star shows

that it would have been too dim
to be observed by the naked eye.

If the event that was observed
around the time of Jesus was a

nova, it is almost certainly not
the nova that we've observed in 1925.

Narrator: Some astronomers say
there's another problem with

identifying a nova or supernova
with the star of Bethlehem

guiding the magi to
their destination.

The nova does not change its position
relative to the fixed stars.

Narrator: In our search for
the star of Bethlehem, we've

considered cosmic phenomena
that shine brightly in the sky,

but what if the star of Bethlehem
is really almost invisible?

And what if the evidence is
linked to one of the Bible's

bloodiest crimes?

Narrator: In our search for
the star of Bethlehem, we've

been looking for bright lights
in the sky, but is it possible

that the star might not be a
huge shining object... but

something only the magi notice?

When you look at a Christmas
card, you see this brilliant

star that everyone
would have seen.

But remember, Herod and his
advisors didn't know about it.

They had to ask the magi
what they had seen,

so it can't have been
that kind of object.

Narrator: It's time to take a
closer look at what the magi say

in Matthew's Gospel.

"For we saw his star in the east,
and are come to worship him."

Now, there are a couple ways
that you can interpret this

statement, "We saw a
star in the east."

Narrator: To decode the
truth, we turn again to the

original Greek of the gospel.

"We saw his star in the east."

"In the east" is actually
"En te anatole,"

or "At its rising in the east."

The phrase has a very specific

meaning for ancient stargazers.

It's what modern astronomers
call a heliacal rising, the

reappearance of a star or planet

that's been out of sight
for weeks or months.

We don't see all of the stars

all of the time because the

tilt of the planet points us in

one direction or another,

and the stars that are around us

in all directions--
some become

hidden, some become apparent,

and that just changes with the
seasons and with the months.

So if we see a heliacal rising
of a planet, that means

it's rising just before the Sun.

The word "Heliacal" has the
same root as "Helios,"

which means "Sun."

Narrator: Heliacal risings are
very important in ancient times.

In Egypt, the heliacal rising of

the star Sirius corresponds with

the annual flooding of the Nile.

But astrologers, like the magi,

could interpret a heliacal

rising as a supernatural omen.

Is this the key to the
mystery of the star?

Rather than something spectacular
and brilliant in the

sky, the star of Bethlehem may

have actually been an obscure

astrological concept of the form

of astrology practiced
by the magi.

King Herod and his advisors

would not have understood what

the magi would have been talking
about, because to Jews,

astrology is not something
that's typically practiced

or followed.

Narrator: But Herod has
enough knowledge of Greek,

Roman, and Eastern ideas to try

to talk to the magi
on their own terms.

"Then Herod privily called
the wise men and learned of them

exactly what time
the star appeared."

Narrator: Matthew has Herod
act on their astrological information.

The puppet king, feeling his
political power threatened by

the young messiah,
orders a mass murder.

"Then Herod sent forth and
slew all the male children that

were in Bethlehem and in all the
borders thereof, from two years

old and under, according to the

time which he had exactly
learned from the wise men."

Narrator: Many astronomers
see this story as a key clue

Matthew provides about what the
star of Bethlehem must be.

Herod is killing all the
children that are up to two

years old, so could the star
of Bethlehem actually be

a two-year-long phenomenon?

Narrator: So the star of
Bethlehem may not be an object

but a process.

If you are going to open up
the possibility to maybe

multiple conjunctions of planets
with stars, then you can finally

have a phenomenon, or rather
a series of phenomena, that

stretch out over a few years'
time.

Narrator: To astrologers,

conjunctions--
stars and planets

lining up in the sky in unusual

ways-- were cosmic
messages to be decoded.

The magi would have watched
for the motions of planets.

They would have tabulated and
recorded every conjunction.

They would have tried
to see meaning in it.

Narrator: So perhaps in 7
BC, near the time some

scholars think Jesus was born,

the magi observe the
two largest planets--

Jupiter, the Planet of
Kings, named for the king

of the Roman gods;

and Saturn, which many ancient
astrologers think controls the

fate of the Jewish people.

Between May and December 7 BC,
Jupiter and Saturn seem

to pass right next to each
other, not once but three times.

To astrologers, this conjunction

could mean a change
of kingship in Judea,

but it's really an optical
illusion called retrograde motion.

Retrograde motion is the term

we give when a planet
appears to move backward,

but it really is
just how it appears.

The planet isn't actually
changing its direction.

The general shape of the Solar
System is a bit like this velodrome.

Planets are like bikes, each
orbiting in their own lane

if you will.

Some of them are on smaller

lanes, and some of them
are on larger lanes.

They orbit in curved lines, and
if you go on a line with a

shorter distance, you're gonna
end up overtaking a bike that is

on a higher line, which has
to travel a larger distance.

Retrograde motion happens when a
planet which is closer to the

Sun and is moving faster catches
up with the planet which is

further away from the Sun
and moving more slowly,

so every so often the planet on
the inner track is gonna catch

up and lap the planet
on the outer track.

Narrator: On the track, both
bikes are going forward,

but from the right angle, it
looks like the more distant

bike is going backwards.

And because Jupiter's orbit is
on an outer track from Earth's

orbit, a similar illusion
occurs in 7 BC.

From the magi's perspective on
Earth, Jupiter seems to pass

Saturn and then falls backward

and passes again, then
goes forward and passes

a third time--
a triple conjunction.

This may signal the magi to
watch what Jupiter does next,

and the following year, 6 BC,
the King Planet moves

against the constellation of
Aries the ram, which like

Saturn, is granted astrological
influence over the Jews.

To ascribe to individual
constellations different traits

or different properties seems
silly to many of us, but at the

time that would have
made perfect sense.

In April of 6 BC, Jupiter
would've been rising in the

east, right before dawn, when
suddenly the thin crescent Moon

would've completely passed over

Jupiter, occulting it, blocking

its light, until suddenly

Jupiter would've popped out
from behind the dark limb.

Narrator: Astrologically,
this can be interpreted as the

birth of a new king, and since
Jupiter is often in the

constellation Aries in 6 BC,

the interpretation is that the
new king will arise in Judea.

This was of great
astrological significance.

Narrator: It may be enough to
get the magi on their camels,

but our search for the star
of Bethlehem isn't over.

In recent years, a new
conjunction has been identified.

Can this settle the questions of
what the star really is and the

real date of Jesus's birth?

Narrator: Is the truth behind
the star of Bethlehem to be

found, not just in the science
of astronomy, but encoded in the

ancient secrets of astrology?

Many astronomers think the
star in Matthew's Gospel is a

conjunction-- planets and stars
lined up in a natural event--

with a supernatural interpretation
provided by the magi.

If you look into the sky of 5,
or 6, or perhaps 7 BC, the

most interesting set of
conjunctions in those years was

a triple conjunction involving
Jupiter and Saturn,

and if you believe that Jesus
was born then, then that's

probably what the star was.

Narrator: But others look to
another, perhaps more dramatic,

conjunction that could
rewrite history.

In the years 3 to 2 BC,
the planet Jupiter came

incredibly close to the planet
Venus-- so close that they had

appeared to merge into one
star, and this was done in the

constellation of Leo, very
low on the eastern horizon,

right before dawn.

Narrator: Astrologers like the
magi might interpret this as

the King Planet, Jupiter,
joining the Mother Planet,

Venus, in the Constellation of
the Lion, the king of beasts--

a constellation, like Aries,
associated by ancient

astrologers with the Jews.

Perhaps, the magi think, a great
Jewish leader has been conceived.

Later, between September 3 BC

and May 2 BC, retrograde
motion makes it look like

Jupiter, the King Planet, passes
three times above a special star

that ancient astrology says
also rules the fate of kings.

Regulus is the brightest star
of Leo, and so Regulus has the

same root as "Regal."

It's the king star in the Lion
Constellation, the constellation of kings.

As the Earth passed Jupiter in
its orbit, Jupiter would appear

to pass Regulus in a
rare triple conjunction.

According to some astrologers,
by connecting these dots,

Jupiter appears
to crown Regulus.

Narrator: The magi might take
this as a sign that a great king

is about to be born.

Then Jupiter lines
up with Venus again.

It's nine months after their
previous conjunction--

the time it takes for a woman
to conceive and give birth.

In June of 2 BC, as Jupiter
was lowering, it would

meet Venus now coming upwards,
and the two would once more join

and make a single bright star,
but this time over Judea.

Narrator: To the magi, are these
the signs for the birth of

the King of the Jews, the Messiah?

Is this June conjunction the
final sign that sets them on

their journey to the west?

Some say they don't arrive in
Jerusalem until late December

2 BC because in that month,
Jupiter has moved into the

southern sky, and some calculate
that retrograde motion makes the

planet which the magi have
followed look like it's standing

over Bethlehem on the
25th of December.

It's not Jesus's birthday
or anywhere near it.

The Gospel of Matthew says he's
already a young child, not a baby,

but could the memory of the
magi's visit be one reason,

centuries later, that the church picks
December 25th as the date of Christmas?

Many say this explanation for the
star of Bethlehem is the one

that best connects the
gospel with astronomy,

but others say it's impossible
because it happens in 2 BC,

two years after Herod the
Great dies in 4 BC.

According to Matthew, the birth
of Jesus and the death of Herod

are linked and can't
be separated.

"Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the King."

All right, so this
sets the time frame.

Herod had to have been king,
and he must've been alive.

The conjunction in 2 or 3 BC
could not have been the

star of Bethlehem if King
Herod really did die in 4 BC.

Narrator: But what if
traditional history is wrong?

According to Flavius Josephus,
an historian of the late

1st century, Herod dies after a
lunar eclipse and before the

spring feast of Passover.

A lunar eclipse occurs when
the Moon's orbit around the

Earth takes it through the shadow of
the Earth, and the Earth blocks the Sun.

Narrator: Many scholars assume
that the eclipse Josephus

refers to is the partial
eclipse of March 13, 4 BC,

but in the late 20th century,
a controversial new theory

arises... that Josephus is really
referring to the total lunar

eclipse of January 10th, 1 BC,
an event that would

terrify any who see it.

The Moon looks deep red
during a total lunar eclipse.

Narrator: Red like the
blood shed by Herod.

Is this the celestial sign that
his own death is not far away?

If you believe that Herod died
in 1 BC, then you want to

look for the star in the years
2 or 3 BC, and an amazing

series of conjunctions of
planets and stars that occurred

in those years, and if
that's the correct time

frame, then I think it's safe to
say that's what the star was.

Narrator: If this conjunction
is the true star of Bethlehem,

then Jesus is born in 2 BC, very close
to the traditional date of his birth.

But if this is when Jesus is
born, then generations of

traditional scholars are wrong
about when King Herod dies, and

it's time to rewrite history.

I would love it if some day
archaeologists were to find clay

tablets, papyrus scrolls,
something that gave more light

on these ideas that come down to
us that may have actually had

an astronomical origin, but
if that's going to happen,

we have to wait and see.

Narrator: We've looked to the heavens to
find the star that signaled Jesus's birth.

We've crossed out comets,
meteors, and exploding stars

to identify the star the magi
saw as one of a series of

conjunctions involving a planet
that billions see every night--

Jupiter, a planet named
for a pagan god

whose movements through space
interpreted by ancient astrologers

have been immortalized
as the star of Bethlehem.

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