Websites on the Star of Bethlehem

• Cuneiform Star Tablet: The Babylonian Almanac of 8/7 BCE, tabulating the movements of Jupiter & Saturn, on the British Museum Advent Calendar website.
• Josephus and the Star of Bethlehem: G.J. Goldberg argues for a link between the Star of Bethlehem and the star that, according to Flavius Josephus (Jewish War VI 5.3 [289]), appeared over Jerusalem in 66 CE.
• The Nativity Pages: Rev. Phil. Greetham’s website on the Nativity and related questions (origin of Christmas, the date of Christ’s birth, the Magi and their Star).
• The Star of Babylon and Bethlehem: John N. Harris speculates that the journey of the Wise Men to Palestine was the result of the fortuitous discovery of the planet Uranus by Babylonian astrologers in the spring of 9 BCE.
• The Star of Bethlehem: Donald Simanek’s critical comments on Star of Bethlehem planetarium shows.
• The Star of Bethlehem: Griffith Observatory website with many useful links on the Star of Bethlehem.
• The Star of Bethlehem: Fact sheet on the Star of Bethlehem by the U.S. Naval Observatory.
• The Star of Bethlehem: An Astronomical and Historical Perspective: Susan S. Carroll discusses several astronomical theories for the Star of Bethlehem.
• The Star of Bethlehem: Possible Astronomical Explanations of the Star: Fact sheet on the Star of Bethlehem by Robert Massey of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
• Star Witness: The Star of Bethlehem as viewed in 1985 by the Biblical creationist Henry M. Morris.
• Star of Wonder: Cover story by Mary Barron from the National Catholic Reporter (issue of 27 December 2002).
• Sur les origines historiques possibles des légendes de Nativité: Website by Alexandre Reznikov exploring the possibility that the Star of Bethlehem was Halley’s Comet in 12 BCE.
• Venus the Star of Bethlehem: Website by Bruce Alan Killian based on the theory that the Star of Bethlehem was the planet Venus.  
• What was the Star of Bethlehem?: Interactive website based on John Mosley’s The Christmas Star (1987).

The following articles on the Star of Bethlehem are available online from the website of the Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Astrologie (CURA):

• Guinard, Patrice: L’étoile de Bethléem: Un scénario organisé par des astrologues (CURA, nr. 16, 2002).
• Pardo, David A.: A Statistical Solution to the Star of Bethlehem Problem (CURA, nr. 20, 2002).
• Holden, James H.: Early Horoscopes of Jesus (CURA, nr. 24, 2003).

Some other Useful Websites

Ancient Astrology and Divination

• Ancient Divination & Astrology on the Web: Webportal to various useful websites on Hellenistic and Near Eastern astrology and divination by Timothy Spalding.
• Astro-Guide to Hellenistic Astrology: Webportal to various useful websites on Hellenistic astrology by Marilynn Lawrence.

Online Astronomy Programs

Christmas Hymns and Carols

Online Bible Translations

• Blue Letter Bible: Offers several English translations of the Bible with the original Hebrew/Greek text and the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate versions.
• Interlinear Study Bible: On the SearchGodsWord website.

Online Theological Encyclopedias

• The Catholic Encyclopedia: Digital version of The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, 17 vols. (Appleton, New York, 1907-1922) on the New Advent website.
• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Digital version of The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, 5 vols. (Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Chicago, 1915) on the SearchGodsWord website.
• The Jewish Encyclopedia: Digital version of The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 vols. (Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1901-1906).

Early Christian Sources Online

• Early Church Fathers: English translations of texts from early Christians and the church fathers originally published in The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, 10 vols. (Charles Scribner, New York, 1902-1905), A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 14 vols. (The Christian Literature Company/Parker, New York/Oxford, 1886-1889) and A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: Second Series, 14 vols. (The Christian Literature Company/Parker, New York/Oxford, 1890-1900).

N.B. Note that many of the above mentioned online digital editions are based on optical scanning of original printed sources and passing the obtained images through a character-recognition algorithm. The online editions may therefore occasionally present odd readings. When in doubt, always check with the original printed edition.