NASA's 3I/ATLAS-Inspired Theory Transforms Christmas Star Mystery

The Star of Bethlehem has been one of the most interesting celestial mysteries in history for hundreds of years. To those who believed, it was a sign from God; to those who didn't, it was just a religious story. But for scientists, it's a cold case that needs the right data to be solved.

As Christmas 2025 gets closer, the mystery has been brought back to life by a shocking new theory from NASA scientist Mark Matney. He says that the 'Christmas Star' wasn't a star at all, but a fast-moving intergalactic visitor.

Matney, a planetary scientist whose independent research was published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association on December 3, 2025, says that the 'Star' was really a long-period comet that flew very close to Earth.

Matney's peer-reviewed study suggests that the celestial event that led the Magi may have been a comet that was so strange that it acted differently than anything else in the night sky. Past theories have suggested that the star's movement was caused by planetary alignments or supernovae. However, Matney's research suggests a candidate that fits the specific, often ignored, biblical descriptions of the star's movement.

Crucially, his model suggests the object passed between 236,000 and 249,000 miles from our planet—roughly the same distance as the Moon—making it spectacularly bright enough to be visible during daylight hours.

Celestial Interlopers: Decoding the Mystery of 3I/ATLAS and the Magi

The talk about these 'interstellar interlopers' is very timely. Astronomers found 3I/ATLAS in July 2025. It was only the third interstellar object ever seen passing through our solar system. 3I/ATLAS is an ancient, hyper-velocity comet that came from far beyond the reach of our Sun. It follows in the footsteps of 1I/Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).

The ATLAS survey telescope in Chile was the first to see this visitor, which is the size of Manhattan. People are fascinated by its strange 'anti-tail' that seems to point towards the Sun and its unique green glow caused by diatomic carbon. Its arrival has given us a modern-day example of how a rare, very fast-moving thing can capture the world's attention.

Historically, identifying the 'Star' has been a mathematical minefield. In 1614, the legendary Johannes Kepler calculated a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC, though he mistakenly believed it caused a nova.

By 1972, Dr Karlis Kaufmanis argued that a combination of multiple planetary events in the constellation Pisces—the 'House of the Hebrews'—served as the sign. More recently, in 2015, Professor Colin Nicol proposed The Great Christ Comet of 6 BC. Yet, none of these quite explained the Gospel of Matthew's claim that the star 'went before' the Magi and then 'stood over' the birthplace of Jesus.

The 3I/ATLAS Connection: Could a Comet Actually 'Stand Still'?

Matney's breakthrough came from scrutinising ancient Chinese annals from 5 BC. These records describe a 'broom star'—a comet—that remained visible for over 70 days. The Book of the Han Dynasty specifically notes the apparition appeared in the second month of the year (roughly March or April) near the star Altair. Using a novel numerical technique, Matney computed a potential orbit that would have brought this comet incredibly close to Earth in June of 5 BC.

According to his findings, the comet's trajectory could have exhibited a phenomenon known as 'temporary geosynchronous' motion. Because it passed so close, its apparent movement in the sky would have accelerated to counter the Earth's rotation.

To an observer on the ground, this would create the illusion of the object leading them on a journey before appearing to come to a dead halt in the heavens. From the perspective of the Magi travelling the short, south-bound road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the comet would have appeared to hover directly overhead for approximately two hours.

'This is the first astronomical candidate for the Star ever identified that could have had apparent motion corresponding to the description in Matthew,' Matney noted in his abstract. His research suggests that if the Magi were travelling south towards Bethlehem, the comet would have appeared directly ahead of them, eventually reaching a point where it seemed to 'stop' as it made its closest approach to Earth.

3I/ATLAS is a modern cousin of this ancient visitor, but it shows that space is much more crowded with nomadic visitors than we used to think. As 3I/ATLAS gets closer to Earth this December, moving at 210,000 km/h, it becomes a living lab for theories like Matney's.

Matney's work connects ancient scripture with modern astrophysics, showing that sometimes the truth is even more amazing than the story. It's unclear if he has finally solved the mystery or just added a brilliant new chapter to it.

The discovery of 3I/ATLAS has given us a front-row seat to how interstellar visitors work. It has also given the idea that the Nativity story was based on a very real, very rare physical event more weight than we thought.

Dr. Mark Matney's research doesn't just give a scientific explanation; it also suggests that a 'stranger' from space may have come so close to our world 2,000 years ago that it changed the course of human history.As 3I/ATLAS starts its long journey back into the void, we can only guess how many other ancient mysteries are waiting for someone in the present to look up at the right time.