So explain how it led them East to Jerusalem, then after they spoke with Herod it led them South to Bethlehem, stopping over the house where Mary and Joseph were staying with the infant Jesus. What is described in the Scriptures is a supernatural event, not a natural movement of planets.
Star of Bethlehem was visible to the Magi for two years, as they slowly traveled from the east, before they finally reached Jerusalem and had an audience with king Herod.
The light was obvious to star gazing astrologers like the Magi, but subtle enough that nobody in Judaea had yet perceived it.
Such sounds like a maximally bright and long lived supernovae within our galaxy. There was such a supernova 2000 years ago! The
star of Bethlehem may have been the supernova RCW103, whose remnant resides within the plane of the galaxy in the direction of the Norma and Scorpios constellations.
From Judea, in early 4BC, the supernova would have appeared very low above the
southern horizon, and it must have been visible at night. The Gospel of Matthew might mean that the star climbed up to its maximum height above the horizon over the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
evidently, the Magi first observed the light above the
eastern horizon. that would have occurred approximately 3 months earlier, in late 5BC... In mid 5BC, the light would have only been above the horizon during the day, so impossible to observe...
I offer that the Magi observed it in late 6BC, forgot about it, but then observed it again still bright in late 5BC... Now perceiving significance, they traveled east, gradually turning south, for several months, until by the time they reached Jerusalem in early BC, they were proceeding mostly southwards... And they told king Herod that they had been viewing the light for almost 2 years. Herod rounded up and took out all babies 2 years and under just to be safe, so to speak from his perspective.
Maybe they hooked east then south from northern Iraq, Iran or even Afghanistan?
Supernova Leaves Behind Mysterious Object
RCW103 - Wikipedia
