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https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/comet-star-bethlehem-t99jj3r6v
Unfortunately, it is behind a paywall, but for those who subscribe.
It refers to the Mark Matney article on the star of Bethlehem in the latest edition of the JBAA.
Well done to Indra Bains and Philip Jennings for their work on this.
Here’s the piece in The Times.
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…and there is more….
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Thanks Janice and Steve for posting.
I do think this story has the potential for much discussion – hopefully we can keep it going until Christmas!One thing I was surprised at was in talking about it being visible locally at mid-morning. I think Mark Mattney is mixing up what comet observers call m1 and m2 magnitudes (total and nuclear). When a comet is very close to Earth the apparent size of the coma is very large so it makes no sense to think in terms of m1 magnitudes. A second point is that we underestimate the abilities of our forebears to know their night sky especially that before dawn. The wise men may have been astronomer-priests who were well able to observe/follow their ‘star’ even if it was a comet with an m2 brightness of say the 2nd magnitude in the pre-dawn sky: fuzzy stars really stand out!
Richard , you state “even if it was a comet with an m2 brightness of say the 2nd magnitude in the pre-dawn sky: fuzzy stars really stand out!”
Example being Comet Holmes 17p in November 2007. A bright fuzzy star that really stood out
Also Comet Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock C/1983 H1 in May 1983.I well remember C/1983 H1. On the night of closest approach it was very obviously crawling across the field of view in the eyepiece at quite lo powers.
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