Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-26
STAR OF bethlehem.
Was It Manifestation, Comet or Planet
Conjunction?

When the Wise Men of the East were
guided, according to the Biblical ac-
count, b. a star. the Star of Bethlehem,
to the Manager where the newborn
Savior lay, was it comet or was II a
conjunction OF the planets Jupiter and
Saturn? Or Was the star a phenOme-
non which must be accepted as heav-
emily manifestation on the birth OF
Christ?
II the star was heavenly nantes
tation. as devout believers in the New
Testament have maintained for CEN
turtles. then. of course. 1t posses ses N
astronomical or other scientific inter-
est. But astronomers In modern times
have not believed that the Star OF
Bethlehem was a heavenly manifesto
lion, and they have set out to find some
wand ering comet. which, according to
it's periOdicity. was due to arrive in the
Eastern heavens about the time of the
birth Of Christ. An event which is cele-
brated as Christmas day.
In their search astronomers have
found that the Star of Bethlehem may
have been Hailey's comet. or a con-
junction Of the planets Jupiter and Sat
urn. They do not agree whether it was
the comet or conjunction of planets.
In any event the appearance of either
was not simultaneous with the birth
of Christ According to the periodicity
Of llailey's comet II should nave been
visible about the year l. A. D. The
conjunction Of the planets occurred OF.
December IS. l.. c. The difference in
the dates Of the appearance of these
bright lights H. the skies and In the
date Of the birth Of Christ is accounted
for in two ways. In the case OF Hall
ey's comet, it is maintained that
Christmas day does not owe its origin
rs q distinctive holiday as the birthday
OF Christ. hut to his appearance among
,nen as a teacher. If this theory is
correct, then Christ appeared as q
teacher at the age of Is years.
The second theory, which would also
explain the variance in the dates of
Christ's birth and of the appearance OF
Hailey's comet. is furnished by the I'M
certainty which surrounds Christian
chronology. In fact. what is known as
the Christian era was not settled upon
until the year 1872. over 500 years after
the birth of Christ. 1t Is claimed that
errors were made in fixing the date of
the birth of Christ.
Astronomers claim that there can be
no error in the conjunction Of planets
or in the appearance of Hailey's comet.
The interesting question, therefore
crises, If the Star of Bethlehem was
not heavenly NANTES tation. but the
conjunction of planets. was not Christ
born in s 4. c.? Are we not, therefore,
six years behind in computing the be-
ginning Of the Christian era?
If the star, on the other hand. was
Hailey's comet, Christ must have been
born in the year is A. d. In other
words, our ancestors We're too early by
Is years in starting the Christian era.
Hailey's comet was first traced by DR..
Edmund HALEY. who was a contem-
porary of Sir Isaac Newton, and who,
III 1852. while calculating its origin.
found that it had followed the path of
other recorded comets of the same brill
liancy. A search of astronomical rec
ords disclosed that its periodicity was
about IS years, and that it had been
visible in the year Is A. D. The COM
ct is due to reappcar IN 1911. Its last
appearance was in 1896.
The astronomer Kepler 800 years ago
discovered, by calculating the move
r,ents of planets. that there must have
been 2 conjunction Of Jupiter and Sat
urn fiji the year s b. c. He believed
that this conjunction was the Star Of
bethlehem, which was a guide to the
wise men. Records recently discovered
IN Egypt show that this conjunction is
described in list of the positions OF
the planet from, Il p. c. to A. D. The