For years, astronomers have tried to puzzle out what made astrologers travel to Israel at a certain date. Missing data, unclear sources, later additions and elisions, and religious bias make the job just more interesting.

Before we start talking of the star, let’s have a look at the available data. Jesus Christ was born sometime before the Birth of Christ. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The good monk Dionysius Exiguus who did the calculation of the birth date went wrong by several years. It is generally believed today that Jesus was born before 4 B.C. and after 8 B.C. And the exact date of birth is even less known, maybe somewhere in November. December 25th is one of these many assumed dates, religious people adopted to convert the heathen. And other churches, other dates, in the East it’s January 6th. No big help either.

The best known story is the one of the three kings which weren’t kings, but magi; astrologers of the Zoroastrian religion maybe and maybe even probably, as they were renowned for their astrological skills at that time. But what could three priests be looking for in a foreign king, what made them travel?

Let’s set out with what we have. The wise men are only mentioned in the Gospel of St Matthew, which was written somewhere in the first or second century A.D. As Matthew was variously beheaded, burnt, and died of natural causes, a long live span seems in keeping. The content of the gospel is therefore about as precise as my knowledge of the first Thanksgiving in America without the resources of books and internet. It doesn’t mention three wise men either, only three gifts.

Like the Jews, Zoroastrians believe that a Messiah will one day come and establish the kingdom of God on earth. Like the Jews, they are still waiting for it to happen. But something triggered their interest at that time to go and have a once over of the new born king. Obviously they had seen an astronomical event that was of importance, but just as obviously not important enough to invite Jesus for a recall.

So what happened in the skies above the East? A UFO? A comet? A supernova? Astronomers using a state of the art program on computers rolled back the skies to the time frame mentioned. We just have to assume that our computers do better than Dionysius, but let’s pretend they do. What should they look for? The UFO is clearly out of question, as the beetles of Betelgeuse Zeta have little interest in earthly kings, and hovering for months, while three old men plodded through the desert seems asking a bit much even of beetles.

A comet was first depicted by the Italian painter Giotto in 1301 still under the impression of Halley’s Comet passing. And a comet it couldn’t have been, as comets are harbingers of destruction, war, and pestilence. True, if you look at the crusades, but not what would have impressed Zoroastrian priests. A supernova would fit the bill of being spectacular, but wouldn’t it have asked for more than a primary screening? Not being asked for a second interview looks like a more common phenomenon.

That leaves our neighbours in the skies as guides, and seemingly in 7 B.C. there was a series of unusual constellations between Jupiter and Saturn, where they seemed to travel backwards or even stand still on certain days. And these occurrences repeated themselves over several months, enough time to get the old camel and do the hike. The phenomenon would have started in May, been repeated in September, and again in November. As the date of December was fixed only in 400 A.D. to coincide with the feast of Sol Invictus (The invincible Sun) and the feast of Mithras, the god of the Zoroastrians (in a belated try to tell them they should have given that second interview), this is at least a possibility.

At the same time, it would explain why the Zoroastrians were not convinced. A planet travelling backwards always means negative energy, and standing still is obviously immobility. Looking at the sects that call themselves Christian Churches these days (no exceptions granted), they seem to have been uncannily right in that assessment. Insert the value of Jupiter as freedom and mental development (going backwards means less freedom and development reversed) and add to this the value of Saturn as angst, and you have the complete history of Christianity down pat.