Around Christmastime, people in many countries recount the old story of the wisemen (or Magi) and the star of Bethlehem, but if such a star existed, which star was it?

The biblical account tells of Magi who came to Judea from the east to find the king of the Jews who had been born, because they had seen “His star in the east”.

This may have been a bright star, but planets are sometimes brighter than stars, so it also may have been a planet.

"Probably the best interpretation at the moment is that it was most likely a planetary conjunction," says UW-Stevens Point Blocher Planetarium Director Dr. Randy Olson.

A planetary conjunction happens when two planets seem to pass very close to each other.

From the biblical account, it seems that the Magi were the only ones aware of this so-called star.

"So it probably wasn't a supernova, a new star or some other unique phenomena,” says Olson.

Olson also says the Magi were astrologers - people who watched the stars to explain world events - so there would have been certain things they would have looked for to foretell this kingly birth.

"There was a planetary conjunction in the year 3 B.C. into 2 B.C. between both Venus and Jupiter, which were the two brightest objects in the sky at that point in time,” says Olson.

Not only that, but the conjunction happened in the constellation Leo.

"Which, for many of the Middle Eastern cultures was associated with Judea,” says Olson.

The conjunction first happened in August of 3 B.C., and rose in the east.

The Magi may have begun their long journey upon seeing that.

Over the next few months, Jupiter continued slowly from east to west across the night sky, while Venus sped around the sun in its shorter orbit.

During that time, Jupiter also made a retrograde loop, passing in front of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, three times; and the Magi would have been seeing this on such a journey to Judea.

In June 17th of 2 B.C., a second conjunction of Venus and Jupiter occurred, this time in the western sky.

"On that date, they got so close together that unless you had some sort of magnifying tool, it would have almost appeared as if they became one object," says Olson.

This may have been around the time the Magi would have actually been in Judea.

But historians disagree about the exact year of Jesus Christ’s birth, and even if that were known, we still wouldn’t have a sure way of knowing exactly what the Magi saw.

"But when we start looking historically at what was going on in the sky, in the heavens and what they were thinking about and were interested in, that is most likely one of the best explanations," says Olson.

The Blocher Planetarium at UW Stevens Point is showing some holiday-related programs, which examine the traditions of several different faiths.

Their final shows are on Sunday, December 23, and you can get a schedule by clicking on the link below to visit their Web site.