SHARE This coin from Syria depicting Aries gave astronomer Michael Molnar a clue to the possible Star of Bethlehem. Michael Molnar photo

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When a dealer at a New York coin show showed astronomer Michael Molnar an ancient Roman coin minted in Syria that featured a picture of Zeus on one side and Aries the ram on the other, he bought it for $50.

A few months later, Molnar noticed a star on the coin, which was minted in A.D. 13. An earlier version had been issued by Quirinius, the governor of Syria who's mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as ordering a census at the time of the birth of Jesus.

And so began a quest by the University of Wisconsin-Madison alum to see if a most unlikely source — his own coin collection — held a clue to the identity of the Star of Bethlehem that drew the three wise men to see the infant king, an event known as Epiphany, which this year is celebrated Sunday in many churches.

Molnar collects ancient coins featuring astronomical or astrological symbols. While researching a story for a coin collecting magazine, he learned that astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in Egypt in the 2nd century A.D., wrote that Judea was ruled by the constellation Aries.

"I thought: What could have attracted stargazers to the birth of a king? I knew from reading ancient texts that these ancient stargazers watched for Jupiter and its relationship with the moon," Molnar said in a phone interview from his New Jersey home. At the time, planets were called stars.

"They felt that when Jupiter was close to the moon, Jupiter's powers to create kings were strongest," Molnar said. "There was one particular event they were trying to calculate — when the moon would get so close it would pass in front of Jupiter. This was considered magical in ancient times."

Molnar's research, which he published in a book "The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi," led him to believe the star that attracted the Magi to Jerusalem was likely Jupiter eclipsed by Earth's moon — known as a double occultation — while it was located within the constellation of Aries the Ram.

The actual year and date of Jesus' birth are not known; biblical historians most often estimate it was sometime between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. The Magi, who may have been astronomers or astrologers, told King Herod in Jerusalem that they saw a star in the east at its rising, according to the Gospel of Matthew.

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him," the Gospel says.

Herod sent them to Bethlehem, because he had been told by chief priests and teachers that Christ would be born there.

"When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was," the Gospel says. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly great joy."

'A magical moment'

In the course of a year, as the planets revolve around the sun, Jupiter gets closer to the sun and eventually disappears. When it emerges on the other side — in the east — it can be seen from Earth.

"Ancient people thought this was a magical moment and the powers of the planet were at their maximum," Molnar said.

Molnar checked the dates of an eclipse of Jupiter by Earth's moon when Jupiter was in the east and the constellation of Aries the Ram was close, then referenced them against the years when scholars believe Jesus was born. Only one date popped up: April 17, 6 B.C.

When Molnar saw that he got chills.

"I didn't sleep. I knew as an astronomy historian I had the best answer for the Star of Bethlehem. I wasn't a modern physicist coming up with modern ideas. I was trying to explain this in believable ancient ideas," Molnar said.

Whether Jupiter eclipsed by the moon is actually the star heralding the birth of Jesus is certainly open to speculation.

But it's a fascinating theory.

The Star of Bethlehem is "the cosmic holy grail of the sky," said Bob Bonadurer, director of the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Every year at Christmas, visitors to the museum's planetarium ask about the star's possible identity and location.

There are many interpretations — some say it could have been a comet or supernova or possibly a conjunction of planets.

"I still think there's a big question mark and it's nothing against (Molnar's) research, it's that we just don't know," Bonadurer said. "All an astronomer like myself or Michael (Molnar) can offer is possibilities based on what we know of the time of Jesus' birth. It's still a great journey to explore."

A separate link to history

Molnar lived in Madison for 31/2 years while he worked on his doctorate in astronomy at UW. He arrived in 1967 at a time when the campus was a hotbed of anti-war protests. His office was on the sixth floor of Sterling Hall and had it not been for a broken vending machine, he likely would have been working in the wee hours of Aug. 24, 1970.

Molnar usually arrived at his office in the afternoon, worked all night and returned home early in the morning. On the night of Aug. 23 he was hungry and walked down to a vending machine on the fourth floor to buy a candy bar. But it jammed and he lost his money. Still hungry, he decided to leave earlier than normal.

At 3:42 a.m. a stolen van parked next to the building and packed with 2,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil exploded. The target was the Army Mathematics Research Center on the second through fourth floors.

Molnar's office on the sixth floor was filled with a small personal library of astronomy books, photos from astronomical observations he made at the W.M. Keck Center for Surface and Interface Imaging in Arizona, and his dissertation research. In the explosion, a pipe lighter in his office ignited, and everything in Molnar's office went up in flames.

"In the newscasts afterward I saw flames coming out of my office and I thought, 'Oh no, I'm done,'" Molnar recalled.

Molnar didn't know the researcher who was killed in the blast and felt fortunate that although he lost part of his research, he wasn't hurt. Parts of his burned dissertation were found blown out of the building in the days and weeks later.

"You didn't Xerox everything you did back in those days, it was expensive. I did give my adviser some data, God bless, and with the charred remains I was able to recover a lot. It did set me back," said Molnar. "I came back in January to defend it. I think the faculty was very supportive and took into consideration a lot."

After earning his doctorate in astronomy at UW, Molnar performed pioneering research in the field of magnetic stars by using satellite observations, and served on research teams for several space missions including the Mariner 9 Mars Orbiter. He taught astronomy at Rutgers University.

Today, he lives in New Jersey, and the coin that started his quest for the Star of Bethlehem hangs on a wall.

Visitors don't bring gold, frankincense and myrrh. But they do show interest.

"A lot of people who visit me ask to see it," he said.