The Christmas Star, Novae, and Pulsars
Volume 13 number 1 (1984)
- Dorrit Hoffleit
- Yale University
Abstract
A ceiling painting in the Priscilla catacomb in Rome appears to represent a star map showing the Christmas Star. If so, this might be a portrait of the nova or comet of 5 B. C., or it could be Venus in 6 B. C. It could not represent the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B. C., which occurred in a different part of the sky.