[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks SeekAndFind. Just in time for Christmas, from the FRchives: How December 25 Became Christmas The Epiphany of the Lord Did You Know About the Relics of the Three Wise Men? Wise Men from the East --- Epiphany How December 25 Became Christmas 'Jesus was born in June', astronomers claim Gospel Records of Jesus' Birth --- Bible Discussion Three wise men leading us astray? DATE OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST (The Star that Astonished the World) Ready for "Little Christmas"? Why December 25? The origin of Christmas had nothing to do with paganism Archaeologists Identify Remains of Site Where Bible Says Jesus Restored Blind Man's Sight Should Christians be celebrating Christmas at all? FOLLOWING THE WISE MEN Were the Magi who visited Jesus --- Persian? Is December 25th Special? To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[mikrofon]

As a casual astronomer, I've always been intrigued with the multitude of theories regarding the Star of Bethlehem, particularly that the "star" sightings by the Magi were in fact many of the planetary conjunctions taking place around the BC/AD boundary.

I once ran an old astro program to follow the movements of Jupiter, Venus, among other significant objects around that time (adjusting for 2,000 years of precession) yielding views from the Middle East. One specific view from Jerusalem in the pre-dawn hours during mid-September of 3 BC corroborates a predicted conjunction of Jupiter with Regulus (the "King Star") in Leo ("The Lion"):

This epoch would coincide with one of the Jewish Holy Day periods when some have postulated that Christ was born.

Now, the exact date of the Nativity is not critical to my faith (that He came, suffered, died, and rose again *is*), but it makes for interesting discussion...

[Cincinna]

Thanks Civ
Interesting article!