Bethlehem Star

[LDF Knives]

Did anybody see the Bethlehem Star this week? Post a picture if you have a Good Camera!

[Steve Warden]

Would love to see pics!
Been too cloudy here over New Jersey.

[WillyCamaro]

Event of the millennia, snowed over.
And perfectly clear today.

[doglegg]

There are several pictures posted on the Amateur Astronomy thread.

[FRJ]

I've never heard of the Bethlehem Star.
Is this an occasional sighting?

[Steve Warden]

I've never heard of the Bethlehem Star.
Is this an occasional sighting?

Actually 2 planets coming so close together it looks like one brighter star.
Last seen some 800+ years ago.

[Meridian_Mike]

Here is a poor picture my wife took with her phone....
.

.
It's not all that good but it shows how RED Jupiter is when it is up next to Saturn.
(or, is Saturn the RED one???)
Pretty cool.
.
Maybe this is the Lord REMINDING us that Jesus was born as our Savior.
When Jesus was born, a very bright star, appeared over Bethlehem for SEVERAL days to show the way to where Jesus was born.
This was the first miracle God gave to the world to show everyone Jesus was HIS Son!

[Railsplitter]

I didn't want to post this in the Amateur Astronomy thread because it was taken by Tom Polakis whom I believe is a professional.

Not sure of the magnification on this but obviously taken through a telescope.

[LDF Knives]

Here is a poor picture my wife took with her phone....
.
Christmas star.JPG
.
It's not all that good but it shows how RED Jupiter is when it is up next to Saturn.
(or, is Saturn the RED one???)
Pretty cool.
.
Maybe this is the Lord REMINDING us that Jesus was born as our Savior.
When Jesus was born, a very bright star, appeared over Bethlehem for SEVERAL days to show the way to where Jesus was born.
This was the first miracle God gave to the world to show everyone Jesus was HIS Son!

[WillyCamaro]

Here is a poor picture my wife took with her phone....
.
Christmas star.JPG
.
It's not all that good but it shows how RED Jupiter is when it is up next to Saturn.
(or, is Saturn the RED one???)
Pretty cool.
.
Maybe this is the Lord REMINDING us that Jesus was born as our Savior.
When Jesus was born, a very bright star, appeared over Bethlehem for SEVERAL days to show the way to where Jesus was born.
This was the first miracle God gave to the world to show everyone Jesus was HIS Son!

[kootenay joe]

Rs, the picture seems to show Jupiter and Saturn as far apart. Would this still look like just one bright spot with just your eyes ?
kj

[Railsplitter]

Rs, the picture seems to show Jupiter and Saturn as far apart. Would this still look like just one bright spot with just your eyes ?
kj

Yes.

[OLDE CUTLER]

These conjunctions of planets happen fairly frequently in different combinations. The current one is Jupiter/Saturn. Venus and Mars also are involved in conjunctions with any two or more of the 4 planets mentioned capable of producing conjunctions. While the two planets appear to be very close together, one has to remember that at the time they looked the closest, Jupiter was 5.8 astronomical units from earth while Saturn was 10.7. One a.u. equals 92,955,807 miles, so Saturn was hundreds of millions of miles "behind" Jupiter. The statement that this current event has not happened for 800 years is not true. As I mentioned they happen fairly frequently. They have not appeared to be this close together in the sky for 800 years. Also it is a total misnomer to call it is a Bethlehem star since neither object is a star and can happen at any time of the year and in this instance by coincidence is near Christmas time. When I used to do astronomy programs for kids groups and Scouts, I used to demonstrate with a baseball and a hoopla hoop, the base ball being the sun and the hoopla hoop being the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path that the planets seem to take across the night sky. So just by coincidence from time to time from our perspective on earth they will appear close together, or in conjunction.

[Steve Warden]

Just goin' by what I read, OC.

It's estimated that the last time humans witnessed this impressive sight was around the year 1226, according to Michael Shanahan, the director of the Liberty Science Center Planetarium in New Jersey.
https://www.today.com/news/christmas-st ... cs-t204471

[Railsplitter]

These conjunctions of planets happen fairly frequently in different combinations. The current one is Jupiter/Saturn. Venus and Mars also are involved in conjunctions with any two or more of the 4 planets mentioned capable of producing conjunctions. While the two planets appear to be very close together, one has to remember that at the time they looked the closest, Jupiter was 5.8 astronomical units from earth while Saturn was 10.7. One a.u. equals 92,955,807 miles, so Saturn was hundreds of millions of miles "behind" Jupiter. The statement that this current event has not happened for 800 years is not true. As I mentioned they happen fairly frequently. They have not appeared to be this close together in the sky for 800 years. Also it is a total misnomer to call it is a Bethlehem star since neither object is a star and can happen at any time of the year and in this instance by coincidence is near Christmas time. When I used to do astronomy programs for kids groups and Scouts, I used to demonstrate with a baseball and a hoopla hoop, the base ball being the sun and the hoopla hoop being the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path that the planets seem to take across the night sky. So just by coincidence from time to time from our perspective on earth they will appear close together, or in conjunction.

I remember reading some time ago that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is 93 million miles.

Is this what an Astronomical Unit is?

[WillyCamaro]

These conjunctions of planets happen fairly frequently in different combinations. The current one is Jupiter/Saturn. Venus and Mars also are involved in conjunctions with any two or more of the 4 planets mentioned capable of producing conjunctions. While the two planets appear to be very close together, one has to remember that at the time they looked the closest, Jupiter was 5.8 astronomical units from earth while Saturn was 10.7. One a.u. equals 92,955,807 miles, so Saturn was hundreds of millions of miles "behind" Jupiter. The statement that this current event has not happened for 800 years is not true. As I mentioned they happen fairly frequently. They have not appeared to be this close together in the sky for 800 years. Also it is a total misnomer to call it is a Bethlehem star since neither object is a star and can happen at any time of the year and in this instance by coincidence is near Christmas time. When I used to do astronomy programs for kids groups and Scouts, I used to demonstrate with a baseball and a hoopla hoop, the base ball being the sun and the hoopla hoop being the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path that the planets seem to take across the night sky. So just by coincidence from time to time from our perspective on earth they will appear close together, or in conjunction.

I remember reading some time ago that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is 93 million miles.

Is this what an Astronomical Unit is?

Yup, if I can remember correctly from my schoolin.

[Railsplitter]

These conjunctions of planets happen fairly frequently in different combinations. The current one is Jupiter/Saturn. Venus and Mars also are involved in conjunctions with any two or more of the 4 planets mentioned capable of producing conjunctions. While the two planets appear to be very close together, one has to remember that at the time they looked the closest, Jupiter was 5.8 astronomical units from earth while Saturn was 10.7. One a.u. equals 92,955,807 miles, so Saturn was hundreds of millions of miles "behind" Jupiter. The statement that this current event has not happened for 800 years is not true. As I mentioned they happen fairly frequently. They have not appeared to be this close together in the sky for 800 years. Also it is a total misnomer to call it is a Bethlehem star since neither object is a star and can happen at any time of the year and in this instance by coincidence is near Christmas time. When I used to do astronomy programs for kids groups and Scouts, I used to demonstrate with a baseball and a hoopla hoop, the base ball being the sun and the hoopla hoop being the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path that the planets seem to take across the night sky. So just by coincidence from time to time from our perspective on earth they will appear close together, or in conjunction.

I remember reading some time ago that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is 93 million miles.

Is this what an Astronomical Unit is?

Yup, if I can remember correctly from my schoolin.

[WillyCamaro]

Just goin' by what I read, OC.

It's estimated that the last time humans witnessed this impressive sight was around the year 1226, according to Michael Shanahan, the director of the Liberty Science Center Planetarium in New Jersey.
https://www.today.com/news/christmas-st ... cs-t204471

Same here.
Johannes Kepler, and Galileo calculated that this event fell extremely close to the true birth of Christ. They figured out the star that guided the wise men fell on 7.AD, which concurs with what scriptures say, seeing that Jesus was a child when they met Him.
So going by the calculations of the greatest scientist who ever lived, this is the advent that guided the wise men, or something very similar.

...
Don't quote me on this un mates, I have more research todo (thinking about today).

[OLDE CUTLER]

I didn't want to post this in the Amateur Astronomy thread because it was taken by Tom Polakis whom I believe is a professional.

Not sure of the magnification on this but obviously taken through a telescope.

It doesn't matter who took the picture, you can post it there. lol

[bighomer]

Mighty poor but here you go.

[WillyCamaro]

Mighty poor but here you go.