The Star of Bethlehem is also known as the Christmas Star.  In the bible, in the book of Matthew, the Star of Bethlehem is what signaled the birth of Jesus to the Magi and later led them to Bethlehem. 

Now through January 3, the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel hill is running "Star of Bethlehem" - a 35 minute show that explores the mystery surrounding the legendary celestial event.  The original version of this presentation first appeared in 1949 and is now entering it's 60th year!  Over the years the show has been revised to take advantage of advancement in planetarium technology to offer enhancements to the original show.  "Star of Bethlehem" is one of the longest-running planetarium shows in the world and weaves art, music and science in to an amazing holiday tradition.

Per the planetariums website:  "What are some of the possible astronomical explanations for this even?  Viewers can examine whether a blazing comet, an exploding or shooting star, a major eclipse or a conjuction of planets might explain the reported event."  Some other point of interest from the website include that the "newest version of the show features scholars of astronomy, art history and religious studies presenting various perspectives on the star as well as new theories from archeology and history experts."

This holiday season as you are reading stories about the birth of Jesus why not add a trip to the Morehead Planetarium in to the mix  to enhance the overall story?  The planetarium is open every day except for Monday.  You can see a complete listing of hours here.  Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $5.00 for children.