Did you see the “Christmas Star” last night? If not, there’s still time:

Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat. What has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star” is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Dec. 21…The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years. What makes this year’s spectacle so rare, then? It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.” The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset. An Article on the NASA website, December 15, 2020

Here’s what it looked like from my house with some of my neighbors’ Christmas lights providing appropriate ambience:

We don’t know whether something like this is what the Wise Men saw or whether the “Star of Bethlehem” was a comet or what. But it was a nice Christmas week treat. Check it out!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19.1, NIV)

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. (Matthew 2.10, NKJV, the link goes to my blog of December 16, worth the read just to hear the song!)