The Star of Bethlehem.

"We have seen his star in the East," said the wise men. From what remote region of antiquity may we suppose that this fancy came, that important events to the world of man were heralded by marvelous phenomena of the heavens? To the ignorant man, there can never be any world outside of that with which he is concerned. So the primitive man had no use for planets, comets, and the like, that were not in some way concerned with his destiny. And we no doubt own our magnificent modern science of astronomy to the quack system of astrology, which was only a device to induce the heavenly bodies to minister to the importance and conceit of man.

The accepted Scriptures tell us that the birth of the Savior of mankind was heralded by the appearance of a remarkable star in the sky. Taking this assertion to be true, it might be a matter of some interest to consider what explanations have been made of this phenomenon. A large majority of religious teachers, we admit, even to the present day, have attempted no explanation whatever, but have settled the subject by calling the star a miraculous appearance, concerning whose true nature we can know nothing. But two solutions of the phenomenon have been given by well-known astronomers, either of which, if accepted, will place the miracle in the list of purely natural occurrences.

Kepler held that the Star of Bethlehem was simply a conjunction of the planets. Astronomy, which, more fortunate than history, can bring unimpeachable witnesses to its record of past events, assures us that there was a remarkable conjunction, or rather three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, in the year of Rome 747, or seven years before the Christian era. It is now generally admitted that Christ was probably born at least four years before the date fixed upon as the first "year of our Lord," and remembering how much uncertainty hangs about this date we might consider ourselves fully justified in placing it, as Kepler did, in the year 7 B.C. This being granted, let us see how the occurrence of the conjunctions in this year explains the miracle of the "Star."

In the first place, note that the Magi, or Wise Men, of the East (presumably the country of Chaldea) were the first to call attention to the star as indicating the birth of the "King of the Jews." The Chaldeans were devoted to astrology, and it is only reasonable to infer that whatever remarkable appearance they saw in the sky, they would endeavor to explain it by their astrological laws. On the 29th of May, 7 B.C., a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred, in the 20th degree of the constellation Pisces, close to the first point of Aries; on the 29th of September of the same year, another conjunction of these planets took place, in the 16th degree of Pisces; and on the 5th of December, a third, in the 15th degree of the same sign. (These are not conjectures or inferences, but known astronomical facts.) If we suppose that the Magi, intent on their study of the heavens, saw the first of these conjunctions, they actually saw it in the East, for on May 29, it would rise three and one half hours before sunrise. It is not necessary to suppose that the planets approached near enough to each other to appear as one star, for they probably did not—it was their conjunctions that gave their astrological significance. It plainly indicated to these observers that some important event was impending, and what could be more important than the birth of a great man? But where was this one to appear? The sign Pisces was the most significant one for the Jews, for according to astrological legend, in the year 2865 A.M. a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in this sign had heralded the birth of Moses; the proximity to Aries indicated that the hero foretold was of kingly lineage; the Jewish expectation of a great king had become a well-known story in Chaldea during the captivity, ergo, the inference was prompt and sure, this conjunction indicated the birth of the expected King of the Jews. That they might be among the first to do honor to so great a personage as they believed this king to be, the wise men soon set out for Judea. The journey probably took them five months or more. On their way they witnessed the second conjunction, which no doubt only strengthened their faith. If they performed the journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem at the time of the third conjunction, December 5, in the evening, as the narration implies, the stars would be some distance east of the meridian, and would seem to move from southeast to southwest, or towards Bethlehem. Their standing over the house we may regard as an additional statement that crept into the narration probably through its repetitions.

Such is Kepler's explanation of the Star of Bethlehem. But before he had given this to the world, indeed while he was an infant in his cradle, Tycho Brahe had connected the phenomenon with that of one of the great variable stars of the solar system.

The latter astronomer discovered, in 1572, what appeared to be a new star in the constellation, Cassiopeia. It was a star of the first magnitude when first perceived, and daily it increased in brilliancy, till it out-shone Sirius, equaled Venus in lustre, and could be perceived, even by the naked eye, at noonday. For nearly a month the star shone; at first it had a white light, then a yellow, and finally it was a bright red. Then it slowly faded, and in about sixteen months had disappeared.

Amidst all the conjecture concerning this remarkable appearance, some regarding it as a new world in process of creation, others as a sun on fire, Tycho Brahe held to the belief, though unable to prove it, that it was a star with a regular period of light and of darkness, caused possibly by its nearness to, or distance from, the earth. When the telescope was invented, forty years later, the accuracy of this theory was known. At the spot carefully mapped out by Tycho Brahe, a telescopic star was found, undoubtedly the same one whose brilliant appearance had so startled the world in 1572. Upon this, astronomers began to study the annals of their science for similar appearances, and found that a very brilliant star had appeared and disappeared near the same spot in the heavens in 1264, and also in 945. The inference was that this star had a period of about three hundred years, and counting back, imagination might place one of its periods of brilliancy very near the time of Christ's birth. For this reason it received the name of the Star of Bethlehem, and many have fully accepted the theory which makes this variable luminary identical with the "Star of the East."

This second theory has especial interest just now, for if astronomical calculations are correct, we may look for the reappearance of this remarkable star during the coming year. If it does fulfill the prediction of its return it must be reckoned as one of the most noteworthy phenomena of the century.

For the benefit of amateur observers, who are as likely as any to be the first to perceive this remarkable sight, we may say that Cassiopeia, the constellation in which it will appear, lies very near the North Star. You all know how to find the Polar Star by the pointers of the Great Dipper; continue this line beyond about an equal distance, and you will strike Caph, the largest star in Cassiopeia, or the Chair, so-called because the stars form the outline of an inverted chair. Near one of these the wandering luminary will probably flash out, "to amaze a wondering world."

We may remark, in conclusion, that though there are quite a number of variable stars, their nature and the cause of their changes are but imperfectly understood. The Star of Bethlehem has no doubt an orbit, which brings it much nearer the earth at some times than others. But astronomers do not believe that the mere fact of distance explains all changes. There is a star known as Mira, which for eleven months is wholly invisible to the naked eye, then flames forth as a star of the first magnitude, and is visible for a period of nearly three months, fading at its close into darkness again. The star Algol, in the constellation Perseus, is usually of the second magnitude, but every two and a-half days it begins to decline in brilliancy, becomes very faint, and remains thus for about three hours, and then waxes bright again. Possibly this may be caused by the shadow of another star. In 1866 a star of the eighth magnitude, in the Northern Crown, suddenly flamed up into extraordinary brilliancy, remained thus for several months and gradually subsided. This star was examined with the spectrum, and showed lines of burning hydrogen. This led to the theory, now held, that the increase in brilliancy of these stars is caused by the incandescence of this gas. These fixed stars are all supposed to be suns of other systems, and to be surrounded—like our sun—with envelopes of fiery gases; from some cause not at all understood these gases may, at regular periods, flame up with fiercer heat than usual, and produce this appearance of greatly increased light. This is a very inadequate explanation, no doubt, but it is the best that astronomers have yet been able to devise in the matter.

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