Christmas Star 2020....................

[ABikerSailor]

On December 21st, you can see a conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter in the southwest night sky, just after sunset. This is the first time these 2 planets have been this close in over 800 years in the nighttime sky. It's thought that a similar conjunction between the 2 planets is what the Magi followed when they went in search of Jesus.

Jupiter and Saturn will form rare "Christmas Star" on winter solstice

On December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer in Earth’s night sky than they have since 1226 A.D. You can watch the event live here, courtesy of Lowell Observatory.

astronomy.com

And, if you think you can miss this and catch it next time, think again, another conjunction (and not as close as this one) won't occur until 2080.

 

[HenryBHough]

From the first day of Advent until the twelfth night people in this little town see illuminated the Christmas Star 90-feet overhead. I built the first one about 25 years ago and replaced it twice since as lamps burned out. This one has LEDs and its replacement is safely stored at ground level. I figure the LEDs will last longer than will I so no matter who (if anyone) picks up the "mantle" there should be Christmas stars over that little town for at least ten years.

 

[ABikerSailor]

From the first day of Advent until the twelfth night people in this little town see illuminated the Christmas Star 90-feet overhead. I built the first one about 25 years ago and replaced it twice since as lamps burned out. This one has LEDs and its replacement is safely stored at ground level. I figure the LEDs will last longer than will I so no matter who (if anyone) picks up the "mantle" there should be Christmas stars over that little town for at least ten years.

View attachment 426627

But, you have to admit, the alignment of the planets on the 21st of December is gonna be a cool thing to watch. I'm gonna check it out.

I also find it kinda cool that this hasn't happened at these close distances for 800 years, and that astronomers think that something like this alignment could have been what the Magi thought was the Star of Bethlehem.

It's also cool that it's happening just a couple of days before Christmas.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

God's better than that.

 

[Shawnee_b]

But, you have to admit, the alignment of the planets on the 21st of December is gonna be a cool thing to watch. I'm gonna check it out.

I also find it kinda cool that this hasn't happened at these close distances for 800 years, and that astronomers think that something like this alignment could have been what the Magi thought was the Star of Bethlehem.

It's also cool that it's happening just a couple of days before Christmas.

Yes it's very cool. I'm 66. seen many cool ones/events. Saw Haleys Comet from AnZa Borego desert, still have a pic somewhere. Guys had telescopes but binocs picked it up better. Heck I took the pic with one of those old flat Kodak Instamatic" 110's and it's a good pic!

 

[Bob Blaylock]

 

[harmonica]

.....so they were specifically aligned for the man jesus????!!!!!!???????

 

[CrusaderFrank]

been cloudy and rain or snow here for days

 

[Bob Blaylock]

been cloudy and rain or snow here for days

The sky was hazy, here in Sacramento, on the 20th, when I went out to take some pictures of the conjunction. Interestingly, though the sky was fairly clear on the 21st, when I photographed the conjunction, heaving fog rolled in not much later.

Aside from the conjunction being tighter on the 21st, the pictures that I got on the 20th were not nearly as good as those the following evening, due to weather conditions.

 

[JoeB131]

On December 21st, you can see a conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter in the southwest night sky, just after sunset. This is the first time these 2 planets have been this close in over 800 years in the nighttime sky. It's thought that a similar conjunction between the 2 planets is what the Magi followed when they went in search of Jesus.

yeah, have to call BS on this part.

First, the story of the Magi ONLY appears in the Gospel of Matthew. It does not appear in the Gospel of Luke, and the gospels of John and Mark don't even talk about the Nativity.

Second, you don't "follow" a star. (Or in this case, a planetary conjunction). The star appears more or less the same no matter where you are on the earth.

Furthermore, we know exactly when various planets were in close proximity, because they have fixed orbits and can be predicted. No one has claimed there was a close conjunction of any planets at the time of 4 BCE to 6 CE (the period that Jesus might have been born in, according to the Gospels, which contradict each other on many points.)

Now, this DOES make sense in the context that Matthew was trying to appeal to Zoroastrians, who were very into astrology. Magi were the priests of Zoroastrianism. We forget this today because there are so few of them left. Today, we refer to these guys as "Kings" or "Wise Men". The bible also never specifies how many of there there were. We assume there were three because they brought three different gifts.

Matthew essentially took a copy of the Gospel of Mark, and then shoved in a bunch of mangled interpretations of Jewish and Zoroastrian "prophecies" in there. And of course, he got a lot of it wrong.