AYON sa Bibliya sinundan ng tatlong hari ang isang bituin upang mahanap kung saan isinilang si Hesus. Ang bituing ito ay tinatawag ng mga tao na “Christmas Star” o ang “Star of Bethlehem”. Bigla na lamang bang sumulpot ang bituing ito upang gabayan ang “Magi”? O nagkataon na sumabay ang pagsilang ni Hesus sa isang phenomenon?

“This is still debatable. Christians believe it was a miracle, a sign. Theologians believe it was a prophecy and that there is no explanation for the event. However, astronomers globally are trying to correlate this to celestial phenomenon, particularly the conjunction of planets,” pahayag ni astronomer Mario Raymundo sa Philippine News Agency sa isang panayam kamakailan.

Aniya, nangyayari ang planet conjuction taun-taon. Gayunman sa Disyembre 21, ang Jupiter at Saturn ay maglilinya nang sobrang lapit sa isa’t isa, na may .1 degree na diperensiya o distansiya.

“We call ‘alignment’ as ‘conjunction’. This would not be the first time that Jupiter and Saturn would align. (The things is,) these planets had a really close distance from each other 800 years ago. It is only on Dec. 21, 2020 that they would be too close from each other again,” paliwanag ni Raymundo.

Pagbabahagi pa ni Raymundo, na nagtatrabaho sa Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), gumagamit ang mga astronomers ng data na nagbibigay sa kanila ng pagkakataon upang ma-compute kung kailan mangyayari ang mga celestial events, tulad ng eclipse. Isang paraan din ito upang ma-compute at maanalisa nila kung kailan naganap ang mga nakalipas na celestial events, maging kung nangyari ito noong BC (Before Christ) era.

Sa Disyembre 21, aniya, mapapansin ng mga tao sa buong mundo ang tila dalawang bituin na nagsama, dahilan upang mas magningning ito. “Those would look like the stars, but those are two planets -- Jupiter and Saturn,” pagbabahagi pa niya.

Maaaring mapansin ng mga tao ang ningning ng mga “bituin” sa gabi pa lamang ng Disyembre 11. At ang kasukdulan ng ningning nito, aniya, ay masisilayan sa Disymebre 21 mula 6 n.h hanggang 7:30 n.g (Philippine Standard Time).

Paglilinaw ni Raymundo, ang pangyayaring ito ay hindi makaaapekto sa panahon.

Dahil iniuugnay ng mga astronomers ang “Christmas Star” sa planet conjunction, sinabi ni Raymundo na may naganap na “grand conjunction” noong 1 BC, at isang conjunction ng planetang Saturn at Jupiter, na ayon sa kanya, ay naganap noong Agosto 28, 6 BC.

“The great conjunction in 1 BC involved planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and the moon. But this took place before 5 a.m. Thus, it seems impossible that this was the one that the ‘magi’ followed, since the sun would rise about 20 minutes after,” aniya.

Pagpapatuloy niya, ang conjunction na ito ng Jupiter at Saturn noong 6 BC ay tumagal mula gabi hanggang bago mag-6 n.u. “Therefore, this is the conjunction that would probably the closest to what the ‘magi’ have followed, if in case there is really a scientific explanation for that.”

Binigyang-diin naman niya, na wala pang pag-aaral hinggil dito. “There is no scientific data regarding this, and this is still debatable.”

“In my opinion, if ever there is really a scientific explanation behind this, then we could compare it to the conjunction that happened in 6 BC,” punto pa ni Raymundo.

Idinagdag din niya ang “Christmas Star” ay walang kaugnayan sa winter solstice.

“The winter solstice is a season that happens around Dec. 21-22. It is when the earth is closest to the sun, and we consider this ‘the longest night and the shortest day’. This has no relation to the conjunction of planets,” ani Raymundo.