Will You See the Christmas Star?
By Sherri Blevins
On December 21, 2020, look up into the night sky between sunset and 7:00 pm for a chance to see a bright and rare sight similar to the Christmas Star of long, long ago. Will it be the Christmas Star? The answer is up to you and your imagination. With its appearance occurring so close to Christmas, you may choose to view it as a symbol to remind you of the first Christmas so very long ago when the Savior of the world appeared to humanity in the form of a tiny baby and a great star in the sky led wise men from the East to his location.
In scientific terms, this bright and rare sight is a “great conjunction” where Saturn and Jupiter will appear to overlap. The phenomenon will look like a bright star in the southwestern sky that was last seen 800 years ago in 1226 AD. Scientists disagree over whether the original Christmas Star was a great conjunction, supernova, or multiple celestial events happening around the same time. According to an article by Miles Moraities, during the time of Jesus, the wise men would have been interested in the happenings in the sky because they were both astronomers and astrologists. Astronomy is the scientific study of objects in space and the physical universe as a whole. Astrology is the interpretation of the motion of objects in space to foretell one’s fate. It is thought that the idea of multiple celestial events happening around the same time is perhaps the most plausible theory behind the Christmas Star. Whatever it was, the bright light led travelers to a very important discovery, Jesus.
Writer, Miles Moraitis, spoke with David Weigel, the director of the INTUITIVE Planetarium at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, about the rare event. In the Moraitis article, Weigel said that Saturn and Jupiter wouldn’t literally be close to each other. The two massive planets, each about 760 to 1,300 times Earth’s size, will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart. Their orbits will make them appear closer together as they make their paths around the sun. Because of the orbits’ nature and our perspective from Earth, the planets will appear to be 0.1 degrees apart and visible in the night sky. Weigel explained that conjunctions happen every 20 years, but the planets do not usually appear close together to Earth viewers.
A great conjunction similar to the one predicted for December 21, 2020 happened in 1623. German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, revealed his theory of celestial mechanics stating that he figured out how to use math and physics to more accurately predict what the night sky looked like hundreds of years ago. Sadly, Kepler and anyone else alive during this time could not see the conjunction because Saturn’s and Jupiter’s paths were too close to the sun. According to Weigel, it has been approximately 800 years since a conjunction happened at night that will resemble what we can expect to see during this Christmas season.
Weigel described what we could expect to see. He said, “It will be a treat to look at, but don’t expect some enormously bright beacon in the sky. ” Moraitis explained that it would probably look like a very bright, motionless airplane, and you will need to get clear of any trees or tall structures to catch a glimpse. It will be visible after sunset somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00 pm.
After the events of 2020, it will be nice to look up in the sky on December 21 to catch a reminder that hope still exists, and it first appeared to us in human form thousands of years ago as a baby on Christmas night. Even though Jesus is no longer a baby; he is still our hope in this world.