The Great Christ Comet (51 page)

At this point the comet's tail was extraordinarily long, stretching across most of the dome of the sky.
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The previous evening, the 18th, the tail was already well above the eastern horizon when the Sun set. The cometary scepter must have been an awesome sight to behold.

The Magi and others who were paying attention to celestial events must have felt the tension of the scene on October 19. The momentum of the coma's descent was such that it must have seemed obvious that the baby would be born the next day (although, as seasoned astronomers, they would have been well aware that comets do not always do what is expected!). Now that Hydra was ready to pounce, what would happen when the baby emerged from Virgo's womb? The skies did not get any more gripping than this!

When the Sun set and the tail could be seen, it would have been apparent to the Magi that the tail would stretch all the way across the sky when the coma rose at the end of the night.

The Birth Scene

When Virgo rose on the morning of October 20, it was clear that the momentous occasion had come: the cometary baby had finally been fully delivered. The comet had jumped over 4 degrees in one day, and now the side of the coma nearest the horizon was located just over 2 degrees from
λ
Virginis, the star that the Greeks associated with Virgo's left foot but that Revelation 12:1 seems to associate with both of her feet. In the Bab­ylo­nian and Hebrew luni-solar calendars, with sunset-to-sunset days, the date was Tashritu 6 and Hesh­van 6 (or 5) respectively.

The coma was now possibly about 11 degrees long,
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occupying the entire region from Virgo's feet to a few degrees below 80 Virginis. The whole coma was now well below Virgo's vaginal opening. Indeed the baby did not begin to rise above the horizon until after Spica. Judging by the widespread conceptualization of Virgo's lower half at that time, the baby was now born (
fig. 10.28
). The minimum brightness of the comet was apparent magnitude -11.2 (
table 10.7
)
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and the actual figure may have been up to 4 or so magnitudes stronger.
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Moreover, the phenomenon of forward-scattering (the nucleus at this stage had a “phase angle” of 160 degrees) would have boosted the brightness in the sunward side of the coma by about 3.5 magnitudes.
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At this climactic moment in the cometary apparition, the comet was apparently 180 degrees long, its silvery-grey tail streaming straight up to the zenith and all the way across the sky to the western horizon. The whole comet, including the coma and tail, seems to have looked like an iron scepter with a beautiful orbed top. Indeed, as the Magi turned and gazed toward the western horizon at the tail jutting up from it, and followed its length all the way up over their heads and back behind them to the east, they would have got the impression that the majestic scepter was resting on the ground in the west. Since by this time the Magi understood that the comet represented the Messiah, they would naturally have regarded the scepter as touching the earth in Judea.
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Those interpreting the celestial narrative in Biblical terms, including some within the Jewish community and the Magi, would have had no doubt that this symbolized the iron scepter of the messianic Son of God who was, according to Psalm 2, going to reign over the nations. The messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17 would have strongly come to mind: “A star shall come out of Jacob; and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” The moment of fulfillment had come. Somewhere in the west, more specifically Judea, the Messiah was being born.

On October 20, Earth was located at what could be described as another crossroads (or “interchange”) between its orbit and the comet's orbit, even as the comet was seemingly headed straight for it. The comet would get there only 9 days later. It was effectively staring Earth in the face. The comet was only 0.21 AU from Earth when it played the part of the baby newly born, and it was still coming closer (
fig. 10.29
).
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Its long tail was extending well past Earth and close to it.

Descent into the Light of the Sun

As thrilling as the cometary baby's birth was, onlookers following the narrative of the celestial drama would still have been concerned that Hydra might yet intervene to devour the newborn. Naturally the Magi and others enthralled by the unfolding story would have got up early on October 21 to see what would happen next. As they looked at the predawn scene, they would have seen that the cometary coma had jumped down a further 6 degrees (into the constellation Libra). In diameter the coma was something like 18% larger than the day before, although the increasing sunlight may well have meant that this was not apparent. The magnitude was now -11.4, with the coma benefiting from a remarkable brightness boost of about 5 magnitudes (due to its large phase angle—166 degrees). The coma appeared to be heading toward the horizon and into the intense light of the Sun; it was heliacally setting. It was clear that the coma-baby would soon completely disappear from the eastern horizon and that the predawn drama would come to an end. Since the Sun was playing the role of God in the celestial play, the movement of the coma-baby down toward the horizon and into the sunlight was most naturally interpreted to mean that the messianic baby would be rescued from Hydra by God.

By the morning of October 22, the nucleus had descended by more than 8 degrees, with the result that it was about 3 degrees in altitude at sunrise. However, the tail would have been streaming out diagonally across the whole sky. At that time the coma had an apparent magnitude of, at the very least, -11.7.
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When we take into account that the comet was so close to the Earth-Sun line (the “phase angle” of the nucleus was 174 degrees!), we have to boost the brightness of the sunward side of the coma by 7.5 magnitudes (to an effective apparent magnitude of -19.2)!
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(Again, recall
that the full Moon's apparent magnitude is -12.6 and that of the Sun is -26.7.) At least part of the back (upper) section of the large coma would have been visible before sunrise, as would the tail. The baby was, as it were, being rescued by the Sun. It was obvious that this was the last chapter of the nativity narrative in the predawn eastern sky. The coma was heliacally setting. The serpentine dragon had failed to devour the newborn child.

During the 22nd, the comet moved from the east side of the Sun to the west.

That evening at sunset, the nucleus was at 4 degrees altitude. The comet was now heliacally rising in the western sky. Part of the large coma could be seen over the western horizon for a short time after sunset, as could the tail, which streamed up at a slight angle (a slight right tilt), through the constellation Draco, and all the way to and beyond the far horizon. It must have looked like a gigantic neon sign suspended in the sky, directing the Magi to Judea to worship the baby Messiah. The Sun rose before the last section of the tail had set.

On the morning of October 23, the coma (the nucleus having descended 12 degrees in 24 hours to the point that it was the other side of the Sun) certainly did not appear in the eastern sky before dawn. The comet had moved 26 degrees in the space of 3 days! It was now between Libra and Ophiuchus. After impressing observers with its stability within Virgo's belly from September 30 to October 14, the coma had amazed them with its large leaps from October 20 to 23. This was due to the fact that the comet was getting very close to Earth
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as it prepared to move in between the Sun and Earth. The Earth had already gone under the overpass 3 days before October 23, continuing on its counterclockwise orbit; in 6 days, the comet itself would zip across the overpass on its way out of the inner solar system (
fig. 10.30
).

The Magi's Departure

Only when the Magi were exposed to the messianic traditions of the Hebrew Bible were they able to decode fully the multifaceted cometary apparition, most particularly the drama that unfolded in Virgo. This amazing celestial entity was the Messiah's Star and it was announcing his coming to the earth. The moment of birth had been marked by the full emergence of the coma-baby from Virgo's belly and also by the awesome sight of the comet as a whole, looking like an iron scepter, stretching from eastern to western horizon. It was clear to the Magi that the birth of the one destined to reign over the world from Jerusalem had taken place.

The Magi had followed this Star from their first observation of it. They had no doubt
marveled as it made the constellations come alive. Now it had played the part of the messianic baby in an awe-inspiring drama to mark the occasion of his nativity. They must have felt a strong bond with the comet. They were firmly convinced that ancient oracles concerning the Messiah were now being fulfilled. The comet, they believed, was a divine messenger revealing the divine plan regarding the Jewish Messiah. And they clearly perceived that the comet was in a special way speaking to them and even commissioning them to participate in the grand narrative that was unfolding right then. They were not content merely to know that the divine Messiah had been born to Virgo's terrestrial counterpart some 550 miles away; they were determined to see the King and worship him.