Here is a magnificent photo, taken in Australia, of the Jupiter/Venus appulse of 27 August 2016.
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It is the winner of the Astronomy Picture of the Day contest for 1 September 2016 (http://apod.nasa.gov which also has a great IOS/Android app). It is used courtesy of amateur photographer Josh Calcino of Blue Dot Photography (check out his website on Facebook). It captures the beauty of the recent appulse and gives an idea of the strength of the light the planets generated. Near the horizon you can see Jupiter and Venus on the right side of the tree, with Mars on the left. The Milky Way traverses the upper area of the photo, and you can see Mars, Saturn and Antares along the ecliptic, just below the bright centre of the Milky Way.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/14199222_922492317878419_6551211700672091198_n_zpsgul91qnx.jpg

In Part 1, I signaled the uniqueness of the conjunction, called an appulse, between Jupiter and Venus on 17 June 2BCE. 

In this post I will set out the observations that would have been made if you or I had lived in the Middle East two millennia ago.
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 We will test this appulse against the record in Matthew to ascertain if it qualifies as a candidate for the Star of Bethlehem. 

My approach will be to observe what occurred and then pose the question why this would hold relevance. Because this post records a fair amount of observation, as any investigation should before interpreting or drawing conclusions, it may seem a bit technical – perhaps even dense – but please persevere with me, I think it will be worth the effort. It’s also quite long, for which I apologize, but I couldn’t find a good place to split the discussion. 

It is necessary, given the subject of the enquiry, for the reader to (re)acquaint him/herself with the biblical account of the Star of Bethlehem, found in Matthew 2:1-16.
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I like the language of the King James Version best, but more modern literal translations are also adequate. It is necessary to undertake this exercise because the narrative contains important statements of historical, religious, political and geographical importance that frame our enquiry. 

> 1 Now 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, 
> 2 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. 
> 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 
> 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
> 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: …. 
> 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 
> 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
> 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 
> 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 
> 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 
> 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. … [And Jesus family
> flees to Egypt] …   
> 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

There are at least ten clues that can frame an enquiry, and these will be the touchstone against which our findings will be judged (and by corollary, for determining whether there exists a basis in actual events that can sustain the truth claims of the gospel writer’s account). I will not review them all now, so you can start identifying them on your own, and check me as I go. 

For now I will focus on only three of these related clues that define the period and location of the observations.
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Firstly, we are told, up front, that the arriving travellers were “wise men from the east” (see Matt 2: 1).  Their introduction is matter of fact and assumes the reader would understand the import of this primer. It lies in this: the Jewish Nation had been conquered by the Babylonian Empire approximately 600 years before. They were forcefully removed to Babylon and its environs (i.e. to the East) as part of their conqueror’s policy mix of subjugation and intellectual and cultural appropriation and suppression. Under Cyrus the Great, some Jews were permitted (and chose) to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple and pursue their religious and cultural identity. But many Jews did not choose to return, and remained in the Babylonian region, undoubtedly becoming integrated and accommodated within the cultures and communities there extant; and with inevitable syncretisation of their cultural and religious capital. It is a safe inference to draw that the wise men from the east were members of the well-attested astronomer class from the Chaldean / Babylonian / Persian region. According to Asger Aaboe, it is to the neo-Babylonian astronomers that we must look for "the first and highly successful attempt at giving a refined mathematical description of astronomical phenomena" and that "all subsequent varieties of scientific astronomy, in the Hellenistic world, in India, in Islam, and in the West—if not indeed all subsequent endeavour in the exact sciences—depend upon Babylonian astronomy in decisive and fundamental ways." See A. Aaboe (May 2, 1974). "Scientific Astronomy in Antiquity". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 276 (1257): 21–42.

Secondly, the star is described as having been situated “in the east” (see Matt 2: 2), that is to say, the star was observed when looking in an easterly direction.  Because of the orbit of the earth, such a star would of necessity be “rising”, i.e emerging from the horizon and ascending to its point of zenith.  By contrast, a star in the west is a star that is setting. This interpretation must be better than one suggests that a star had become visible in the east (referring to the wise men’s geographical location) and which star was not visible to the rest of the world, for obvious reasons: all places on the same latitude each see the same stars. 
 
Thirdly, the star had appeared approximately two years before the arrival of the Magi in Jerusalem (Matt 2: 7, 16).   This is a matter that the author of the Matthean account takes pains to emphasise was a subject of explicit and particular enquiry by Herod. We will thus search for interesting astronomical manifestations within a similar period around 17 June 2BCE. And if the thesis I am pursuing is correct, the sequence must commence and conclude within a two-year period.

I have searched in close detail for 10 years before and 10 years after this date (and in less detail for longer periods before and after). What do we find? There are many interesting conjunctions and astral features, for example, the triad of so-called great conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn during 7BCE, which was Johannes Kepler’s proposed candidate for the Star of Bethlehem. He reached his conclusion with some impressive mathematical calculations. But the actual visualisation of the event that planetarium software can create, shows that it was not that spectacular. 

However, for the period August 3BCE to August 1 BCE, we find something that is much, MUCH more interesting than our present conjunction of 27 August 2016; and much more interesting than anything else from two millennia ago.
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 I will set out these findings below and have included the associated screen shots from Stellarium so that you can see them for yourself. Zoom in so that you can observe what is described in relation to each shot. I must also explain that the software program assigns a year 0 as it iterates its calculations for each night. There is no Year 0 in the Gregorian calendar: 1BCE is followed by 1CE. Thus in the dates accompanying the screen shots, year 0 is 1BCE, year -1 is 2 BCE and so forth. Feel free to follow the travel of the planets on the software yourself, if you have it! 

Astronomers situated in Babylon (for which we use modern day Baghdad), or along a similar latitude, watching the sky prior to the sun rising at the height of summer in July 3BCE, would have observed that the constellation Cancer was in the east.  Venus was descending towards the horizon.  In the first week of August 3BCE, Leo shows his nose above the horizon, adjacent to which the planet Jupiter, rises in the east.  

**On 12 August 3BCE, Venus conjuncts Jupiter forming a “new” very bright morning star within the constellation Leo.** This conjunction would present within 9 arc minutes or 0,15 degrees, while Venus was illuminated at approximately 95% - brighter than our most recent conjunction on 27 August 2016. 

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture1_zpsiqx99trr.png

**From 22 August 3BCE to 3 September 3BCE, Mercury circles Venus** before Mercury dips beneath the horizon. You read it correctly: Mercury circles around Venus in a two-week period!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture2_zps566ycwck.png

**On 14 September 3BCE, Jupiter conjuncts the star Regulus** in the constellation Leo on precisely the same night that Venus conjuncts the star Zaniah in the constellation Virgo. 

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture3_zpsmny9ugrn.png

**Jupiter then stops and reverses direction** conjuncting a second time with Regulus on 17 February 2BCE.  Again, you read correctly: Jupiter changes direction and moves backwards!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture4_zpspdpahyr0.png

On 30 March 2BCE, Jupiter stops again and reverses direction in Leo.  **On 8/9 May 2BCE, Jupiter makes a third conjunction with Regulus,** thereafter passing beyond Regulus. What has Jupiter been doing?

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture5_zpshym1v5no.png

**On 17 June 2BCE, Jupiter conjuncts Venus identically while setting as the evening star.** This is the remarkably close appulse so superior to the one we have just seen. Venus begins a large circular motion around Jupiter; and Jupiter, and Venus thereafter, disappear below the horizon.  What are Venus and Jupiter doing?

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture6_zps3z1fmyoz.png

On 26 August 2BCE there is a triple conjunction with Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. A planetary mustering consisting of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus and the new Moon, with a possible occultation, follows this. However, neither of these events may have been visible to the naked eye as they occur as it is becoming light. These interactions, obviously portentous as they would have been, will be excluded from consideration as they may not have been observed.

Through September and October 2BCE Venus circles behind Jupiter in the constellation Virgo, but beneath the horizon.  On 14 October 2BCE Jupiter and Venus rise again adjacent to each other, this time in Virgo.  

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture7_zpsjreoxeuo.png

**On 13 November 2BCE Jupiter conjuncts the star Zaniah** in the constellation Virgo.  

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture8_zpsyhktobz0.png

On about 25 December 2BCE Jupiter stops and commences retrograde motion in Virgo.  On 10 February 1BCE Jupiter conjuncts Zaniah for the second time as it passes Zaniah before stopping and reversing direction again.  

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture9_zpsxmnuhuac.png

On 10 July 1BCE Jupiter conjuncts Zaniah for the third time.  

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture10_zpsykuple58.png

**On 20/21 August 1BCE Venus and Jupiter** conjunct in a conjunction visible from Bethlehem for two nights only, whereafter Jupiter sets in the west immediately above the horizon.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Dirk_Vetten/Picture11_zps8hmcsant.png

In summary, we have
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•	a morning star conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in Leo, rising “in the east” on 12 August 3BCE; 
•	Mercury circling Venus from 22 August to 3 September 3BCE;
•	a simultaneous conjunction between Jupiter and Regulus in Leo, and Venus and Zaniah in Virgo on 14 September 3BCE;
•	a retrograde by Jupiter above Regulus creating a triple conjunction with Regulus during September 3BCE and May 2BCE; 
•	an evening star conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in Leo on 17 June 3BCE; 
•	Venus circling Jupiter with a morning star adjacency between Venus and Jupiter in Virgo through September and October 2BCE; 
•	retrograde by Jupiter above Zaniah creating a triple conjunction with Zaniah between November 2BCE and July 1BCE; 
•	an evening star conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in Virgo on 20/21 August 1BCE. 

Is this sequence noteworthy?
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We saw some pretty strange things – or at least they would be so considered to the average lay person: conjunctions between planets, creating new “stars”; planets circling around each other, stopping their motion, reversing, stopping and moving forward again; simultaneous conjunctions, triple conjunctions with stars … 

At first glance, it’s pretty impressive stuff. But it is necessary to understand these phenomena and determine the frequency with which they occur, in order to ascertain whether they are in fact unique and noteworthy. If they are too commonplace an event, for an astronomer, whatever they may appear to be to us, then there would have been nothing to distinguish them sufficiently to warrant the attention of the Magi. 

From an analysis of the frequency of these types of conjunctions, it is clear that some of the individual elements of this sequence are not of themselves extraordinary:
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•	Venus conjuncts with or is adjacent to Jupiter as a Morning Star approximately ever 3 to 6 years (this is because some of the proximities occur beneath the horizon and are thus not visible); and this Morning Star proximity is usually followed by a similar conjunction or adjacency as an evening or setting star during the same cycle. It must be noted though, that the proximity of these two planets is not always sufficiently close to be described as a conjunction that would permit the combination of their light to produce a “new” bright star. 
•	What is outstanding of the 12 August 3BCE and the 17 June 2BCE Jupiter/Venus conjunctions is the closeness of the appulse. They were especially close; and in the case of 12 August 3BCE, extremely bright. 
•	However, while a Jupiter/Venus conjunction would be exciting to see, this is unlikely to be enough on its own to move the wise men to make the journey that they did.
•	What’s with the forward and backward motion of the planets? Imagine if the sun and moon were guilty of these aberrations! Why are planets exhibiting this kind of motion? While most novices find this feature of planetary behaviour surprising, it is perfectly normal. It arises as an optical illusion of sorts, and is known as retrograde motion. All planets in the solar system rotate around the sun in the same direction. These planets do not stop that motion when they appear to do so; or reverse as your eyes tell you they are. As the orbiting earth approaches the planet, usually near its closest approach, like a runner who has the inside track, the alignment of the viewed planet relative to its background of fixed stars changes, changing its apparent position relative to those fixed stars. As you pass the runner, it appears she is going backwards; shortly thereafter, it appears she is going forward again. It is the same with the planets.
•	Jupiter spends approximately 8 months in “forward” or prograde motion, and approximately 4 months in “backward” or retrograde motion each year, although the retrograde motion happens in a different position of the night sky in different constellations each year.

So, if we were reasonably decent astronomers living in Babylon at about the time of the commencement of the common era, we would not have fallen off our chairs noting some of the observations. We would not have had all of the explanations for why some of the features presented themselves that we have today, but we would have seen things like this before, although perhaps not as impressive. 

However, we would have also noticed that some of the elements were relatively unique – once-in-a-lifetime events; and some were possibly absolutely unique:
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•	A pair of rising and a setting conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus within a single constellation, and Leo in particular, is infrequent. Recall that a “rising” conjunction as a Morning star is often but not invariably followed by a “setting” conjunction in each cycle, unless below the horizon, or when Venus displaces from the centre line of the ecliptic path (and which usually gives rise to an adjacency rather than a conjunction). The pair of Venus/Jupiter conjunctions in Leo is definitely a once in several lifetimes – event.
•	Mercury regularly conjuncts Venus, but such conjunctions are rarely visible. However, a tight visible retrograde of Mercury with Venus, such as was witnessed in this sequence, is very unusual, unlikely to be repeated within a lifetime.
•	A simultaneous conjunction of Jupiter with the star Regulus in Leo on the one hand, and of Venus with the star Zaniah in Virgo on the other, has not been found to repeat itself in my analysis. Both Regulus and Zaniah are described as the heart stars of Leo and Virgo respectively, and the significance of this will be explained in following posts. 
•	Retrograde motion of Jupiter above Regulus or of Jupiter above Zaniah (which allows the triple conjunction) occurs in approximately 11 year cycles. However retrograde motion above both Regulus and Zaniah in succession occurs only once in approximately 90 years. This is a once in a life-time event. But retrograde motion causing triple conjunctions above Jupiter and Zaniah following the simultaneous conjunction described above is a completely unique interaction that would have had astronomers who were aware of the religious significance of the interacting planets and stars, sit up and take notice.
•	The adjacency of the moon at the middle conjunction of Jupiter with both Regulus and Zaniah is also extremely unusual and portentous.
•	And of course there is something poetic in the sequence: three conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus; three conjunctions between Jupiter and Regulus; three conjunctions between Jupiter and Zaniah; three times three conjunctions … 

This particular sequence viewed holistically is, as far as I have been able to determine, absolutely unique within the record of the Judaic tradition, and the Christian tradition that followed it. Perhaps it is unique in all of human history.
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The next post will be directed at interpreting the meaning of this sequence. For now, and referring back to the three parameters that we identified at the start of the post, we must note that the sequence endures for 2 years – almost to the day, meeting one of the parameters.  However the remarkable conjunction on 17 June 2BCE on its own does not qualify as the Star of Bethlehem, since it is not one that is rising in the East, on the contrary, it is in the West. The conjunction on 12 August 3BCE does rise in the East – but on its own, it does not endure for 2 years, and would otherwise have to be disqualified.  

But this is not the end of the matter, as we shall see.

Acknowledgment
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I acknowledge the importance of the material presented by Frederick Larson in his work relating to the Star of Bethlehem to the formation of my views on this matter: his work is what awoke my own focused interest in Astronomy in general, and this topic in particular. Having watched his video presentation, I set about my own investigation, using some of the ideas suggested by him. After I had conducted my own research I went back to his findings and found some coincidence and some difference. Importantly, I felt that he had stopped short when looking at the full conspectus of what there was to be seen. Perhaps because of a desire to fit his chronology with the magnificent lunar eclipse on 11 January 1BCE as relevant to dating the death of Herod, he found significance in the retrograde motion of Jupiter in Virgo on approximately 25 December 2BCE, but appears to have terminated his analysis at this point. The way that he signals the onset of this retrograde motion overstates the effect that this fact would have had, in my respectful opinion. My findings confirm many of his findings, and disagree on others; but they go beyond them in at least three important respects. The first difference is in relation to the duration of the events. In this study, the significant stellar interactions persist for at least a further eight months after Larson had ceased describing them, until 21 August 1BCE. This includes the haloing of Zaniah, the significance of 7 April 1BCE as the date of the commencement of the Passover for that year, and the third of the conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus as the date of the discovery by the Magi of “the place where the young child was”. Secondly, the study identifies the relevance and significance of additional planetary interactions, including the “scepter” that heralded the coming of Shiloh, the role of Mercury, and the sequence of 10 full moons that count down the all important Passover of that year. None of these interactions are identified as relevant by Larson, while this study recognizes them as central. And as a consequence several important different conclusions are drawn. Finally, while this study also references some of the scriptures that Larson relies upon (and which had been identified by many commentators before both of us), this study presents an exegesis of other scriptures that reinforce the messianic tradition, and the interpretive context that they provided for the stellar event.