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Princeton Legacy Library: Star of Bethlehem by Mark Kidger (1999, Hardcover)

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Product Identifiers

PublisherPrinceton University Press

ISBN-100691058237

ISBN-139780691058238

eBay Product ID (ePID)725794

Product Key Features

Number of Pages300 Pages

Publication NameStar of Bethlehem

LanguageEnglish

SubjectAstronomy

Publication Year1999

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaScience

AuthorMark Kidger

SeriesPrinceton Legacy Library

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight18 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN99-029635

Reviews"Plenty of new and old data about the night sky and more than a little ancient history inform Kidger's clear account of his own and other's theories about the portent that led the Magi to Judea."-- Publisher's Weekly, Stunningly, incredibly wonderfully an astronomer is now claiming that the age old story we were told as children may be based on the truth. . . . I am inclined to agree with him. [This is] the most compelling solution yet to the mystery., "Stunningly, incredibly wonderfully an astronomer is now claiming that the age old story we were told as children may be based on the truth. . . . I am inclined to agree with him. [This is] the most compelling solution yet to the mystery." --Robert Matthew, The Express, "An easily accessible style permits readers with minimal scientific training to share in the excitement of Kidger's rare feat of scholarly sleuthing. . . . Kidger will not only convince all doubters, but his book will reset the terms for future attempts to put the scriptural Star in scientific context." -- Booklist, "An easily accessible style permits readers with minimal scientific training to share in the excitement of Kidger's rare feat of scholarly sleuthing. . . . Kidger will not only convince all doubters, but his book will reset the terms for future attempts to put the scriptural Star in scientific context."-- Booklist, "Plenty of new and old data about the night sky and more than a little ancient history inform Kidger's clear account of his own and other's theories about the portent that led the Magi to Judea." -- Publisher's Weekly, An easily accessible style permits readers with minimal scientific training to share in the excitement of Kidger's rare feat of scholarly sleuthing. . . . Kidger will not only convince all doubters, but his book will reset the terms for future attempts to put the scriptural Star in scientific context., "Stunningly, incredibly wonderfully an astronomer is now claiming that the age old story we were told as children may be based on the truth. . . . I am inclined to agree with him. [This is] the most compelling solution yet to the mystery."-- Robert Matthew, The Express, " Star of Bethlehem deals with a subject of perennial fascination. Kidger explains matters clearly.... The book should prove of interest to general readers." --Laurence Marschall, Gettysburg College, author of The Supernova Story, Plenty of new and old data about the night sky and more than a little ancient history inform Kidger's clear account of his own and other's theories about the portent that led the Magi to Judea., There are innumerable theories about what the Star of Bethlehem may have been--if anything! Kidger's study is particularly exhaustive.... It is well organised and well written, and it is unquestionably thought-provoking." --Patrick Moore, astronomer who has specialized in studies of the Moon, host of BBC Television's "The Sky at Night," Past President of the British Astronomical Association, Stunningly, incredibly wonderfully an astronomer is now claiming that the age old story we were told as children may be based on the truth. . . . I am inclined to agree with him. [This is] the most compelling solution yet to the mystery. ---Robert Matthew, The Express

TitleLeadingThe

Series Volume Number5148

IllustratedYes

Table Of ContentPREFACE vii Chapter 1. Matthew's Star 3 Chapter 2. A Star over Bethlehem? 20 Chapter 3. The First Christmas 39 Chapter 4. Halley's Comet and Other Red Herrings 73 Chapter 5. Shooting Stars and Fiery Rains 110 Chapter 6. Supernova Bethlehem? 136 Chapter 7. We Three Kings 166 Chapter 8. Triple Conjunctions: A Key to Unlocking the Mystery? 198 Chapter 9. Is the Answer Written in Chinese? 219 Chapter 10. What Was the Star of Bethlehem? 247 Epilogue. Which Star Is the Star? 267 Appendix. The Heavens above Bethlehem 277 NOTES 289 BIBLIOGRAPHY 295 INDEX 301

SynopsisTwo thousand years ago, according to the Bible, a star rose low in the east and stopped high above Bethlehem. Was it a miracle, a sign from God to herald the birth of Christ? Was there a star at all, or was it simply added to the Bible to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah? Or was the Star of Bethlehem an actual astronomical event? For hundreds of years, astronomers as prominent as Johannes Kepler have sought an answer to this last baffling question. In The Star of Bethlehem , Mark Kidger brings all the tools of modern science, years of historical research, and an infectious spirit of inquiry to bear on the mystery. He sifts through an astonishing variety of ideas, evidence, and information--including Babylonian sky charts, medieval paintings, data from space probes, and even calculations about the speed of a camel--to present a graceful, original, and scientifically compelling account of what it may have been that illuminated the night skies two millennia ago. Kidger begins with the stories of early Christians, comparing Matthew's tale of the Star and the three Magi who followed it to Bethlehem with lesser-known accounts excluded from the Bible. Crucially, Kidger follows the latest biblical scholarship in placing Christ's birth between 7 and 5 B.C., which leads him to reject various phenomena that other scientists have proposed as the Star. In clear, colorful prose, he then leads us through the arguments for and against the remaining astronomical candidates. Could the Star have been Venus? What about a meteor or a rare type of meteor shower? Could it have been Halley's Comet, as featured in Giotto's famous painting of the Nativity? Or, as Kidger suspects, was the Star a combination of events--a nova recorded in ancient Chinese and Korean manuscripts preceded by a series of other events, including an unusual triple conjunction of planets? Originally published in 1999. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

LC Classification NumberQB805.K525 1999