intent on their study of the heavens, saw the first of these
conjunctions, they actually saw it _in the East_, for on May 29, it
would rise three and one half hours before sunrise. It is not necessary
to suppose that the planets approached near enough to each other to
appear as one star, for they probably did not--it was their conjunctions
that gave their astrological significance. It plainly indicated to these
observers that some important event was impending, and what could be
more important than the birth of a great man? But where was this one to
appear? The sign Pisces was the most significant one for the Jews, for
according to astrological legend, in the year 2865 A.M. a conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn in this sign had heralded the birth of Moses; the
proximity to Aries indicated that the hero foretold was of kingly
lineage; the Jewish expectation of a great king had become a well-known
story in Chaldea during the captivity, ergo, the inference was prompt
and sure, this conjunction indicated the birth of the expected King of
the Jews. That they might be among the first to do honor to so great a
personage as they believed this king to be, the wise men soon set out
for Judea. The journey probably took them five months or more. On their
way they witnessed the second conjunction, which no doubt only
strengthened their faith. If they performed the journey from Jerusalem
to Bethlehem at the time of the third conjunction, December 5, in the
evening, as the narration implies, the stars would be some distance east
of the meridian, and would seem to move from southeast to southwest, or
towards Bethlehem. Their standing over the house we may regard as an
additional statement that crept into the narration probably through its
repetitions.

Such is Kepler's explanation of the Star of Bethlehem. But before he had
given this to the world, indeed while he was an infant in his cradle,
Tycho Brahe had connected the phenomenon with that of one of the great
variable stars of the solar system.

The latter astronomer discovered, in 1572, what appeared to be a new
star in the constellation, Cassiopeia. It was a star of the first
magnitude when first perceived, and daily it increased in brilliancy,
till it out-shone Sirius, equaled Venus in lustre, and could be
perceived, even by the naked eye, at noonday. For nearly a month the
star shone; at first it had a white light, then a yellow, and finally it
was a bright red. Then it slowly fa