{"id":2031,"date":"2020-12-03T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T17:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=2031"},"modified":"2022-12-26T16:03:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T21:03:26","slug":"christmas-star-will-light-up-the-december-sky-for-first-time-in-800-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2020\/12\/christmas-star-will-light-up-the-december-sky-for-first-time-in-800-years.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Christmas Star\u2019 Lights Up the December Sky for First Time in 800 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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pixy.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On December 21, 2020 we can witness the \u201cChristmas Star\u201d or \u201cStar of Bethlehem\u201d ourselves when it lights up the sky. This has not been seen in nearly 800 years!<\/span><\/p>\n

This is thanks to the upcoming winter solstice when Jupiter and Saturn line up to create the star.<\/span><\/p>\n

These two planets have not been looked this close together since the Middle Ages.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to be to one another,\u201d Patrick Hartigan, an astronomer at Rice University, told\u00a0<\/span>Forbes<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky,\u201d Hartigan said.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a stargazer in the northern hemisphere, you should turn your head, along with your telescope, to the southwest portion of the sky 45 minutes or so after sunset on December 21 to see both planets align.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, other sightings can be seen throughout the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cStar of Bethlehem\u201d has its origins in the opening verses of the Gospel of Matthew:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2).<\/span><\/p>\n

For Christians, the star symbolizes Jesus Christ, who is also referred to as \u201cthe bright and morning star.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We will not see another star-sighting quite like this until 2080!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On December 21, 2020 we can witness the \u201cChristmas Star\u201d or \u201cStar of Bethlehem\u201d ourselves when it lights up the sky. This has not been seen in nearly 800 years! This is thanks to the upcoming winter solstice when Jupiter and Saturn line up to create the star. These two planets have not been looked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1212,1218,111,1215],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christmas-star","tag-rare-occurrences","tag-science","tag-star-of-bethlehem"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Christmas Star\u2019 Lights Up the December Sky for First Time in 800 Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2020\/12\/christmas-star-will-light-up-the-december-sky-for-first-time-in-800-years.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Christmas Star\u2019 Will Light Up the December Sky for First Time in 800 Years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On December 21, 2020 we can witness the \u201cChristmas Star\u201d or \u201cStar of Bethlehem\u201d ourselves when it lights up the sky. 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