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From the Conclusions to the article in Science and Christian Belief....
From the Abstract for the article in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society....
Astronomical and historical evidence suggests that the Star of Bethlehem was a comet which was visible in 5 BC, and described in ancient Chinese records. A comet uniquely fits the description in Matthew of a star which newly appeared, travelled slowly through the sky against the star background and 'stood over' Bethlehem. It is proposed that a remarkable sequence of three astronomical events stimulated the journey of the Magi: the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 the constellation Pisces in 7 BC. Such an event occurs only every 900 years. The probable astrological significance of this event to the Magi was that a divine king would be born in Israel. Second, in 6 BC there was a massing of the three planets Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces. Such a massing only occurs every 800 years (and very much more infrequently in Pisces) and it would have confirmed to the Magi that the king to be born in Israel would be a mighty king. Third, a comet appeared in 5 BC in the east in the constellation Capricornus.
*There are three main characteristics of the star of Bethlehem recorded in Matthew: it was a star which had newly appeared, it travelled slowly through the sky against the star background, and it stood over Bethlehem. It is suggested in this paper that one, and only one, astronomical object satisfies this description: a comet. It is proposed that the Magi originally saw this comet in the east in the morning sky. They travelled to Jerusalem, journey time of 1-2 months, and in this time the comet had moved to the south in the morning sky, hence it appeared ahead of them as they travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on the last lap of their journey. The comet appeared to stand over Bethlehem with a near vertical tail. It is shown that the description 'stand over' is uniquely applied in ancient literature to refer to a comet.
