On Stars

Rachael and Melvyn
3. ON STARS
R. Uncle Melvyn?

M. Mm?

R. Do you ever read your stars in the paper?

M. Sometimes, but only if it’s good news.

R. Don’t you believe in it, then?

M. I don’t believe the movement of the planets, sun and moon against the zodiac of the fixed stars influences things on earth.

R. How about if people react according to the planets? Then they are having some effect.

M. Interesting point. But the planets can’t predict anything.

R. What about the birth of Jesus, when the star stood still over Bethlehem?

M. the things that you’re li’ble to read in the Bible; they ain’t necessarily so.

R. So it’s just a pretty story then?

M. No. I think it relates to a real event.

R. But if the star stood still, the earth must have stopped going round and everyone would fall over.

M. It depends on what you mean by ‘stopped’. The Magi were Zoroastrian astrologers, who had seen an unusually bright heavenly body and were looking for a precise spot on earth to which it related. Bright stars are so rare that they thought it must mean something tremendous.

R. Seems fair enough. But how did they do it?

M. All heavenly bodies appear to move from East to West.

R. OK….

M. Each one reaches its zenith, that’s it highest point, as it crosses the North/South meridian.

R. Hang on …….Yes. Got that.

M. Kepler reckoned there was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the house of Pisces at that time; that would have been doubly bright.

R. So when these bright planets crossed the meridian, they would have been over a particular point on earth, for an instant!

M. What’s more, any star stands still for a moment, between rising and falling again, so you wouldn’t need to know the time, or the direction of south.

R. You could just sit on your camel and look?

M. You might get a crick in your neck, because when you had found the spot, the ‘star’ would be directly overhead.

R. So they just had to ride on until they were right underneath this bright star as it reached it’s highest point in the night sky?

M. You’ve got it.

R. Wow! That deserves a marmalade toastie.

M. And a mug of tea.