The star of Bethlehem was most probably a supernova, a very bright stellar explosion that lasted for several weeks, Astrophysist and member of the Cyprus Astronomical Society, Dr Stelios Tsangarides,  told CNA.

Dr Tsangarides said that the prevailing scientific explanation for the Christmas star is that it was a supernova, a distant star which reached the end of its life and became extremely luminous after a series of explosions, before fading from view over several weeks or months.

“The prevailing scientific explanation is that it was probably a supernova from the Andromeda galaxy (or galaxy M31) or from a satellite galaxy of M31”, Dr Tsangarides told CNA.

He also said that there is a theory that the star was a pious fiction, created by the faith of Apostle Matthew who wrote the Gospel in 66 AD. Around that time, he said, the Comet Halley was visible from Earth and was probably connected to Jesus.

Dr Tsangarides said that astronomers have made several attempts to link the star to astronomical events, such as a conjunction of planets, a nova, or they even argued it could have been planet Venus.

The above theories have been excluded since they cannot explain the brightness of the Star of Bethlehem during the day, Dr Tsangarides told CNA.