How Does Christmas and Science Relate

1
How Does Christmas and Science Relate?
2
What was the star that the wise-men followed?

• Possible Star
• In December, 1603, Kepler watched a conjunction
  of Jupiter and Saturn that took place in
  Sagittarius in the morning sky. (Note this was a
  single conjunction.) The conjunction was
  astrologically important because it took place in
  a constellation that was one of the points of the
  Fiery Trigon, and was to be followed the next
  autumn by a triangular grouping of Mars, Jupiter,
  and Saturn -- a fiery triangle in the Fiery
  Trigon. As an omen this was surpassed only by a
  comet, and many astrologers in 1603 predicted
  that a comet would be produced by the planets'
  close proximity late in 1604.
• http//www.griffithobs.org/IPSChristmasErrors.html
  

3
Could it be?

• WHAT WAS THE STAR THE WISE MEN FOLLOWED?
• (1). Note that the word 'star' had a wide variety
  of applications. The various possibilities are
  discussed and eliminated.
• (2). Meteors and meteor showers such as the
  Leonids though impressive last a maximum of a few
  weeks.
• (3). A nova or unstable star is longer lasting.
  The only nova recorded at the time was a faint
  one in 4 BC. They rarely last 2 years.
• (4). By contrast, a supernova has been seen in
  broad daylight and can last several years. The
  Wise Men claimed to Herod that the star they
  followed was visible for 2 years.
• A. Supernovae and fixed stars can be used for
  North-South guidance.
• B. Certain stars pass directly overhead at given
  locations every day.
• C. For this form of guidance the star must pass
  overhead in Judea.
• D. The Zend Avesta prophesied that Messiah's Star
  would be in Virgo.
• E. Virgo does not pass overhead in Judea.
• F . Only two supernovae recorded near the
  Nativity 134 BC and 173 AD.
• CONCLUSION The Christmas Star was not a
  meteor-shower, a nova or supernova. NOTE The
  account requires the star to appear in the
  eastern sky, move across the starry background.
  and go before the Wise Men to Judea. Only comets,
  planets or groupings of planets behave this way.

4
But wait, theres more!

• THE TWO PRIME CANDIDATES FOR THE CHRISTMAS STAR.
• (1). COMETS
• A. They travel through the background stars at
  the rate of I or 2 degrees per day.
• B. They may be visible to the naked eye for 100
  days or so.
• C. A journey to Judea would take the Wise Men
  about 6 weeks. Comets are thus visible long
  enough for the journey. But...
• D. No comets were recorded in 3/2 BC. Certainly
  none lasted 2 years.

5
Theres more!

• (2). PLANETS AND PLANET GROUPINGS
• A. The motion of planets against the background
  stars is discussed. When two or more planets or a
  planet and star appear to stand close to each
  other in the sky, it is called a conjunction.
• B. The triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
  in Pisces in 7 BC is detailed. The planets were
  about 2 times the diameter of the Moon apart.
  This is an average apparent separation for such
  phenomena.
• C. In February of 6 BC Jupiter, Saturn and Mars
  stood together in a rather loose triangle in the
  western sky. The Sippar Institute of Astrology in
  Babylonia recorded these and the following
  events.
• D. On the 1st August 3 BC Jupiter rose helically
  in the rays of the dawn. This is the precise
  phrase used in Matthew "En te anatole". The Greek
  singular form "anatole" has retained the special
  astronomical significance of a star appearing in
  the rays of the rising sun. By contrast
  "anatolai" means "east". On August 13 at 5 am
  Jupiter and Venus stood a quarter of a degree
  apart in the sunrise glare. That is less than
  half diameter of Moon.
• E. On 18th August 3 BC Mercury came out of the
  solar glare. On September 1st, with sun in Virgo,
  Mercury and Venus stood 1/3rd degree apart in
  Leo.
• F. On 14th September 3 BC, Jupiter stood in
  conjunction with Regulus This was repeated on
  17th February and 8th May in 2 BC.
• G. On June 17th, 2 BC Jupiter and Venus
  'collided' - - they stood 1/50th of a degree
  apart. The two brightest planets in the sky
  appeared to fuse into one immense blaze of light
  - - an unprecedented happening.
• H. On 27th August 2 BC a grand conjunction of
  planets occurred. Jupiter and Mars were 1/7th
  degree apart with Mercury and Venus together just
  I degree away -- in the rays of the sunrise in
  Virgo.
• I. Jupiter then moved westwards. By mid-November
  it had passed the zenith and was shining in the
  western sky-and still moving west. At this point
  the Wise Men set out.
• J. Six weeks later, from Jerusalem, the Wise Men
  saw Jupiter due south on the meridian above
  Bethlehem. At that time Jupiter had reached its
  furthest point west, came to a halt and stood
  still against the background stars in the sky 65
  degrees above Bethlehem. It was December 25th.
• CONCLUSION This extremely unusual set of events
  in 3 and 2 BC was probably the Christmas Star.
  Everything seems to fit the Biblical account.
• http//www.ldolphin.org/birth.html

6
What Sex is Santas reindeer?

• Father Christmas's reindeer are all female and
  always have been.
• Males reindeer shed their antlers at the
  beginning of winter, while females retain their
  antlers until spring.
• http//www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_432318.html

7
Reindeer continued

• both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the
  summer.
• But the males shed them at the beginning of
  winter, usually in late November or early
  December, while the females retain their antlers
  until after they give birth in the spring.

8
Could Santa actually deliver presents to everyone
in one night?

• Santa would require 214,200 reindeer and, with
  the huge mass of presents would encounter
  'enormous air resistance, heating the reindeer up
  in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering
  the Earth's atmosphere.' In short, it continued,
  'They will burst into flames almost
  instantaneously, creating deafening sonic booms
  in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be
  vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second.
  Santa meanwhile, will be subjected to forces
  17,500.06 times greater than gravityIn
  conclusion - if Santa ever did deliver presents
  on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.'
• One can calculate that Santa has little over two
  ten-thousandths of a second to get between each
  of the 842 million households. To cover the total
  distance of 356 million km (221 million miles) in
  this time means that his sleigh is moving at an
  average of 2,060 km (1,279 miles) per second.
  Ignoring quibbles about air temperature and
  humidity, the speed of sound is something like
  1,200 km (750 miles) per hour, or 0.3 km (0.2
  miles) per second, so Santa is achieving speeds
  of around 6,395 times the speed of sound, or Mach
  6395.
• http//firstscience.com/site/articles/christmas.as
  p

9
How Do Lights Deal With Christmas?

• It may be hard to believe, but electric Christmas
  lights have been in use since the late 1800s.
  Martin Luther is credited with the idea of
  putting lights on a tree. As he walked home one
  evening, he was taken with the beauty of the
  stars seen through the evergreens and he decided
  to replicate the sight by placing lighted candles
  on his evergreen Christmas tree.
• Three years after Thomas Edison invented the
  electric light bulb in 1879, his associate,
  Edward Johnson, put electric lights on a tree.
  Then, in 1895, President Grover Cleveland set up
  a lighted Christmas tree in the White House and
  the general public began to notice. So began the
  tradition.
• http//www.scienceplace.org/science/lights.shtml