Caesar's comet

Discuss the world of the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians, and Egyptians.
ghost
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by ghost »

outhouse
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by outhouse »

ghost wrote:Is this the star of Bethlehem?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar%27s_Comet

It probably is.


The Hellenistic authors of the NT were often making parallels to the Emperors divinity, and its funny you mention that because one parallel is "son of god" which Augustus proclaimed himself after the stellar event.

Another parallel is speaking in front of large crowds like the sermon on the mount. A jewish peasant would have never been able to pul it off, and its viewed as a parallel to the Emperor who often spoke in front of large crowds.

We have the coins from that early era, with stars on them, this would have kept this event current in the time of Jesus. The star was popular for quite some time on coins.
nili
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by nili »

outhouse wrote:
ghost wrote:Is this the star of Bethlehem?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar%27s_Comet
It probably is.
So, from Wikipedia:
Astronomical objects [edit]

In 1614, German astronomer Johannes Kepler determined that a series of three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn occurred in the year 7 BC. Although conjunctions were important in astrology, Kepler was not thinking in astrological terms. He argued (incorrectly) that a planetary conjunction could create a nova, which he linked to the Star of Bethlehem. Modern calculations show that there was a gap of nearly a degree between the planets, so these conjunctions were not visually impressive. An ancient almanac has been found in Babylon which covers the events of this period, but does not indicate that the conjunctions were of any special interest. In the 20th century, Prof. Karlis Kaufmanis, an astronomer, argued that this was an astronomical event where Jupiter and Saturn were in a triple conjunction in the constellation Pisces.

Other writers suggest that the star was a comet. Halley's Comet was visible in 12 BC and another object, possibly a comet or nova, was seen by Chinese and Korean stargazers in about 5 BC. This object was observed for over seventy days with no movement recorded. Ancient writers described comets as "hanging over" specific cities, just as the Star of Bethlehem was said to have "stood over" the "place" where Jesus was (the town of Bethlehem). However, this is generally thought unlikely as in ancient times comets were generally seen as bad omens.

Another Star of Bethlehem candidate is Uranus, which passed close to Saturn in 9 BC and Venus in 6 BC. This is unlikely because Uranus moves very slowly and is barely visible with the naked eye.

A recent hypothesis is that the star of Bethlehem was a supernova or hypernova occurring in the nearby Andromeda Galaxy. Although supernovae have been detected in Andromeda, it is extremely difficult to detect a supernova remnant in another galaxy, let alone obtain an accurate date of when it occurred.
How did you manage to conclude that the Star of Bethlehem was "probably" the 44 BCE Comet Caesar rather than one of the above?
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DCHindley
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by DCHindley »

nili wrote:Cited ... Wikipedia:
Astronomical objects [edit]

In 1614, German astronomer Johannes Kepler determined that a series of three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn occurred in the year 7 BC. Although conjunctions were important in astrology, Kepler was not thinking in astrological terms. He argued (incorrectly) that a planetary conjunction could create a nova, which he linked to the Star of Bethlehem. Modern calculations show that there was a gap of nearly a degree between the planets, so these conjunctions were not visually impressive.
For what it is worth, the diameter of the moon is approximately 1 degree. Next time someone sees a full moon, imagine three faint planets about that far from one another. Impressive! (not)

DCH
outhouse
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by outhouse »

nili wrote:How did you manage to conclude that the Star of Bethlehem was "probably" the 44 BCE Comet Caesar rather than one of the above?

You would have to read someone elses reply to understand that.

The Hellenistic authors of the NT were often making parallels to the Emperors divinity, and its funny you mention that because one parallel is "son of god" which Augustus proclaimed himself after the stellar event.

Another parallel is speaking in front of large crowds like the sermon on the mount. A jewish peasant would have never been able to pul it off, and its viewed as a parallel to the Emperor who often spoke in front of large crowds.

We have the coins from that early era, with stars on them, this would have kept this event current in the time of Jesus. The star was popular for quite some time on coins.
outhouse
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:48 pm

Re: Caesar's comet

Post by outhouse »

Now its better to understand why some scholars agree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar%27s_Comet

was perhaps the most famous comet of antiquity. The seven-day visitation was taken by Romans as a sign of the deification of the recently dead dictator, Julius Caesar

Caesar's Comet was one of only five comets known to have had a negative absolute magnitude and was possibly the brightest daylight comet in recorded history


So the brightest stellar event in recorded history last how long?????


Coins were still in use around the time of Jesus birth, within 17 years.

nili
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by nili »

outhouse wrote:Now its better to understand why some scholars agree.
Thank you. Which scholars agree that the Star of Bethlehem was "probably" the 44 BCE Comet Caesar? Would you mind referencing your sources?
outhouse
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Re: Caesar's comet

Post by outhouse »

nili wrote:
outhouse wrote:Now its better to understand why some scholars agree.
Thank you. Which scholars agree that the Star of Bethlehem was "probably" the 44 BCE Comet Caesar? Would you mind referencing your sources?
I believe I heard it from Crossan and Johnathosn Reed
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