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Could the $50 purchase of an ancient coin by a Rutgers astronomer have unlocked the mystery of the Christmas Star? For years, scientists have looked, with little success, to astronomical records for an explanation of the magical star that guided the Magi to Christ's manger. Intrigued by the image he found on the latest addition to his coin collection, Michael Molnar thought there might be more to learn by looking, instead, at the teachings of ancient astrologers.Molnar argues in his book that the Star of Bethlehem was not a star at all, but rather a regal portent centering around the...

Okay, this is starting to get really weird. At the same time that the Middle East is erupting in flames, the U.S. is being pummeled by major natural disasters and we are preparing for the most pivotal election in modern history, extremely unusual things are happening in the heavens. The “Comet of the Century” is making a spectacular run past our planet, the Sun has unleashed an extremely powerful coronal mass ejection, a “second Moon” is now orbiting our world, and it is being suggested that we are witnessing an “intriguing alignment of constellations and stars” that appears to relate...

Scholars made significant advancements in understanding ancient Mesopotamian culture through the translation of 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets that interpret lunar eclipses as ominous signs, Live Science reported Tuesday. These tablets, which were discovered over a century ago and are now part of the British Museum’s collection, detail predictions of death, destruction and disease linked to specific celestial events, according to Live Science. The research, conducted by Andrew George, an emeritus professor of Babylonian at the University of London, and Junko Taniguchi, an independent researcher, was published in the Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 'A king will die': 4,000-year-old lunar eclipse omen tablets...

We sure have been experiencing a lot of “coincidences” lately, haven’t we? On Friday, Israeli forces conducted their first localized raids inside Gaza. Then on Saturday, the path of a spectacular “ring of fire” solar eclipse marched across the continental United States. Is it just a coincidence that this eclipse has happened just as the Great Middle East War is commencing? Throughout human history, eclipses have often coincided with tragic events and major historical turning points. For example, earlier today I came across an article that took a look back at “the World War I eclipse”… Such was the case...

On this date in the year 96, the Roman Emperor Domitian was assassinated … his very last act in the purple having been to condemn to death an astrologer who predicted Domitian’s murder. Son and second successor of the Flavian dynasty’s founder, Vespasian, Domitian left his mark on Italian postcard stands by decorating the Roman Forum with the Arch of Titus to salute his older brother and immediate predecessor. In his day he was known as a tyrant, especially compared to the dynasty which followed him; indeed, Domitian’s murder was the exact birth date for imperial Rome’s golden age in...

Black FridayBack in December of 2007 I was watching the planet Mars rise with the constellation Orion (the hunter). Not a good combination to say the least. Then on the evening of December 24 the moon became full and an hour and change later occulted Mars. My first thought was that war has been conceived. Think seed and egg. As above, so below.24 Full Moon at 1:16 UT. The full Moon of December is called the Moon before Yule in folklore.24 Moon very near Mars at 3h UT (midnight sky). Mag. -1.6. Occultation visible from Alaska, Western Canada, and Europe...

Two millennia's worth of soot and dirt covered the ceiling frescoes in the temple of Khnum in the Egyptian city of Esna, protecting the colors underneath. Now, painstaking restoration work from archeologists has brought these incredible pieces of art back to life.The frescoes have 46 images of vultures, representing, in turn, the Upper-Egyptian vulture goddess Nekhbet and the Lower-Egyptian serpent goddess Wadjet, who is also depicted as a vulture with open wings, although keeping the head of a cobra and the crown of Lower Egypt. Nekhbet is wearing the Upper Egypt crown...Construction of the religious building had begun during Ptolemaic...

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Sept. 22 that the joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission working on the Temple of Esna in Luxor governorate (south Egypt) has restored several inscriptions, drawings and colors in the temple’s ceiling...The Temple of Esna, near the west bank of the Nile River in the city of Esna in southern Egypt, was begun during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius in the first century AD and finished in the era of Emperor Decius between 249-251. It was dedicated to the ancient deity Khnum, who is usually depicted with the head of a ram...The colors...

Egypt's first complete Zodiac was uncovered on the ceiling of the Temple of Esna in Luxor governorate during restoration work carried out by an Egyptian-German expedition...After five years of cleaning and restoration work, the joint Egyptian-German mission uncovered a bright and colourful astronomical representation of the ancient Egyptian night sky.The relief contains all the twelve Zodiac signs, the outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, as well as depictions of the so-called seven arrows and constellations used by the ancient Egyptians in time measurement....these findings were not recorded by the temple's previous publication by late French Egyptologist Serge Sauneron, who...

Archaeologists with the University of Tübingen, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, uncovered ancient Egyptian murals depicting the zodiac signs beneath 2,000 years of grime and soot in the Temple of Esna. The archaeologists have been working to restore the temple, which lies on the West Bank of the Nile, near the city of Luxor, which was once known as Thebes. “The zodiac was used to decorate private tombs and sarcophagi and was of great importance in astrological texts, such as horoscopes found inscribed on pottery sherds,” Dr. Daniel von Recklinghausen, a Tübingen researcher, said in...

More than 2,600 years ago, strange red clouds over Mesopotamia drew the attention of soothsayers across the land. Their royal reports have now helped confine the date of a severe solar storm that washed over the planet. Based on readings of carbon isotopes trapped in tree rings deposited around that time, astronomers already suspected there was a period of intense solar activity around the middle of the 7th century BC... And it seemed like it had pretty far-ranging effects. Earlier in the year, geologists reported similar signs of a storm from around this period in traces of radioactive particles buried...

According to Professor Giovanni Pettinato of the University of Rome, a rock crystal lens, currently on show in the British museum, could rewrite the history of science. He believes that it could explain why the ancient Assyrians knew so much about astronomy. It is a theory many scientists might be prepared to accept, but the idea that the rock crystal was part of a telescope is something else. To get from a lens to a telescope, they say, is an enormous leap. Professor Pettinato counters by asking for an explanation of how the ancient Assyrians regarded the planet Saturn as...

Fathers of the zodiac tracked downAstronomer shows when and where his ancient counterparts worked. Geoff Brumfiel The MUL.APIN tablets record the dates that constellations appeared in the Assyrian sky. R. D. Flavin Using modern techniques — and some rocks — a US astronomer has traced the origin of a set of ancient clay tablets to a precise date and place. The tablets show constellations thought to be precursors of the present-day zodiac. The tablets, known collectively as MUL.APIN, contain nearly 200 astronomical observations, including measurements related to several constellations. They are written in cuneiform, a Middle-Eastern script that is one...

This video explores why the Romans invented astrology, and how they give it the basic form it still has today.Did the Romans think that the Planets were Gods?toldinstone | 333K subscribers | 27K views | 2 weeks ago

What is so interesting about today, March 15, in Christian history?Now I agree this is a bit of a stretch, but in the scheme of things it does makes some sense. If for no other reason than to bring it up for discussion. They say that the more you know the more you do not know, so here is a tidbit to consider. Today is "The Ides of March",which is the fateful day in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Why is it interesting to note? Well, the man who succeeded Caesar is Emperor Augustus who brought peace...

Before one sets out to analyze the astronomical charts for the skies on any date (widely available now in computer programs), in relation to candidates for the star of Bethlehem, one must determine a plausible date or range of dates for Jesus’ birth. Historians estimate it based on when Herod the Great died: placing it within the two previous years. The most accepted date for Herod’s death is 4 BC. Christians who have written about this have, therefore, previously mostly concentrated on celestial events in the years 7-5 BC, based on the assumption of Herod’s death in 4 BC. Historians...

Proof of when the Star of Bethlehem happened and how...

When it comes to tomorrow, Christians need to think while watching the Star of Bethlehem which will appear after an absence of roughly 2000 years. Tomorrow (June 30th, 2015) the Star of Bethlehem will be making a return. Will this mean that the signs of the end is beginning to unfold? And what did this sign mean? Is it a time of joy or suffering or both? How could King Herod's own advisors have been unaware of a star so bright that it could have led the wise men to Jerusalem? According to Professor David Weintraub, this may be because...

A nearly 2,000-year-old Roman coin, etched with a symbol of the zodiac, was fished from the waters around Haifa in northern Israel...Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) made the discovery while conducting an underwater archaeological survey. The bronze coin was minted in Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius...One side of the coin features an image of Luna, the Roman goddess of the moon, and an image of the zodiac sign for Cancer; the other side depicts Antoninus Pius. The coin also bears the inscription "Year Eight," indicating that it was produced during the eighth...

...We know that Halley's Comet was visible in the sky in 11 B.C. However, as the Magi trekked toward Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem, it seems unlikely that they followed a comet because its position would have changed as the Earth rotated, so the comet would not have led them in a single direction. What's more, in the ancient world, comets were often regarded as bad omens...We can also rule out novas and supernovas. Either event would have resulted in a detectable remnant, but astronomers have not found anything that might date back to this time.Furthermore, had the Magi followed...