Lecture: The Star of Bethlehem - fact and fiction

On Friday evening, December 13, 2024 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Prof. Dr. Henny Lamers will give a Lecture. Come and discover the truth behind the story of the Star of Bethlehem at our fascinating evening full of fact and fiction!

The lecture is organized by Sterrenwacht Midden Nederland.

Information:
Location: The Green House in Amersfoort.
Address: Schothorsterlaan 21, 3822 NA Amersfoort.
Date: Friday, December 13, 2024.
Time: 20:00 (the hall opens at 19:30) to 22:00.
Admission: €7.50 - Members free!

The Star of Bethlehem: fact and fiction.

Prof. Dr. Henny Lamers says the following:

In paintings and in nativity scenes you almost always see the "star of Bethlehem" depicted as a comet (tail star). Where did that come from? The evangelist Matthew writes "some wise men from the East have arrived at Jerusalem" and they ask Herod "Where is the king of the Jews born, for we have seen his star in the East." We are almost certain that those wise men were astrologers from Babylon (Persia). But what was that star? It must have been a special star that attracted strong attention. Was it perhaps a supernova? That is an exploding star that can be very bright and suddenly appears in the sky and disappears after a few months. Or was it a comet? Those also appear occasionally and disappear after a few weeks. Maybe it was Halley's comet, which can still be seen every 78 years or so. Or was it a special conjunction of stars and planets, interpreted by astrologers as the arrival of a king?

Astronomers know the locations and movements of stars very precisely, and therefore can calculate back what must have been seen in the sky in Babylon around the year zero. Everything points to the fact that it was a conjunction of planets. This also allows us to use the texts of the Bible to determine the year of Christ's birth.

I discuss the texts and their reliability. I show the different types of images of the star of Bethlehem through the ages and explain what it probably was. This sheds a whole new light on the dating of Christ's birth.

Prof. Dr. Henny J.G.L.M. Lamers studied physics and astronomy in Nijmegen, Utrecht and Princeton. He is professor emeritus at Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam, specializing in star evolution and mass loss. Lamers has published more than 500 scientific papers and seven books. He was a visiting professor in the U.S. and visiting scientist at NASA. Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, honorary member of the American Astronomical Society, and has an asteroid named after him. He has given more than 800 popular lectures and lectures worldwide.

(See website for topics and agenda):website: www.hennylamers.nl