Rare ‘Christmas Star’ to Appear Dec. 21: Here’s What Astronomy Says About the

In just a few days, you can witness a rare event in the night sky that has not been seen in almost eight centuries. 

The two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, will align on Dec. 21 to create what’s sometimes referred to as the “Christmas Star”.

When the planets line up on the day marking the start of the winter solstice, they will appear to form a double planet. It’s a rare event and one that hasn’t been seen since the Middle Ages, according to Rick Larson from the “Star of Bethlehem” documentary. But in reality, the planets won’t be close at all. It will just look like that to viewers on Earth. 

Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech

“What’s happening on Dec. 21st, as beautiful as it is, is not the star of Bethlehem,” Larson tells CBN News.

Larson has done a lot of research on this topic, tracing the actual celestial movements of the planets and stars back to the time of Christ. “The Star of Bethlehem is a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus,” he explains. “The conjunction, which means a coming together, was so close that they basically stacked like a figure 8 and they didn’t obscure one another’s brightness and the result was the brightest star that anyone alive had ever seen.”

Theories About the ‘Star of Bethlehem’

As CBN News has reported, while there have been many theories about the identity of the biblical star of Bethlehem that appeared at Christ’s birth, a combination of historical research, astronomical insight, and biblical understanding has come together to present a plausible explanation that is both miraculous and understandable.

As Larson points out, this theory finds the planet Jupiter to be part of that star. In the ancient world, all heavenly bodies were considered “stars”. 

The Magi or the three wise men were, most likely, court advisers to Babylon who used the stars to give guidance to the ruler. Why would God guide astrologers, of all people, to the King of Kings? This example, according to some writers, was Christ’s first human ministry to unbelievers.

Who Exactly Were the Magi? 

But who were these mysterious wise men? One ancient Jewish writer Philo speaks of them.

Larson, an expert on the biblical Star of Bethlehem, once told CBN News that Philo “describes a particular school of Magi, calls it the Eastern school, and these Magi he praises. He says these guys understood the natural order and are able to explain the natural order to others.  And they were, according to Philo, probably what we might call proto-scientists.” 

Early church historians had been giving a date of around 3 BC for Christ’s birth, though other scholars had been saying 7 BC because of what appears to be a misunderstanding of King Herod’s death in between those two dates.

Larson explains what the Magi likely saw were five astronomical conjunctions that took place over a span of time from August of 3 BC to June of 2 BC. When one planet passes another and, as seen from earth, they line up – that would have been of great significance to these astrologer-advisers.

We now know what these conjunctions meant to these Magi as they would have observed from their far-off land. The conjunctions involved the constellation Leo the Lion, the planet Venus, the planet Jupiter and the star Regulus. 

To the Babylonians, the lion represented Israel. Venus was motherhood. Jupiter stood for fatherhood or kingship. And Regulus symbolized royalty.  

Put these together in the Babylonian mindset and what do you get? A clear and repeated message that a grand king had been born in Israel. 

Why December 25th?

Larson used computerized astronomical tools to track the convergence of these heavenly signs involving Jupiter, Venus, Leo, and Regulus, back to when they would have occurred. 

“Nine months after that first conjunction – nine months – the gestation period of a human. We see Jupiter and Venus come together to form the brightest star anyone had ever seen,” Larson said.

That would have been in mid-June of 2 BC – again near Regulus in Leo. Eventually, Larson traces it all to a conclusion on Dec. 25, in 2 BC. 

“Of course, they didn’t use our calendar – you know December 25th meant nothing to them. They never heard of December, but to us, it could be a sign and it is interesting that the gifting did occur on December 25th,” he said.

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

With today’s telescopes, the grandeur of the skies is more visible than ever before. Yet even with the naked eye, the Psalmist proclaimed “the heavens declare the glory of God.”

How can he do that? Could the Star of Bethlehem be an example in announcing the Messiah? Or is this some kind of misguided astrology?

“The Bible comes down extremely hard on astrology. Reverence for the stars, the idea that stars order your life or guide you or whatever – did you know it was a killing offense in the Old Testament?” Larson said.

But the Bible also says that God put signs in the sky. Perhaps the Star of Bethlehem was like a thermometer.

“A thermometer can…