In the couple weeks leading up to Christmas, I had the privilege of working with some colleagues on an interesting story about the ‘Christmas star’—the star that, according to Matthew’s gospel, Magi from the east followed to the place of Jesus’ birth.
What was this star that led them? And is there any external evidence of this extraordinary phenomenon? A Notre Dame astrophysicist has his hypothesis about what took place, and explains some of the unique astronomical occurrences that coincided with the general time frame of Jesus’ birth.