Adoration of the Magi, from the Life of the Virgin

Albrecht Dürer's print illustrates the Nativity story as told in the Gospel of Matthew, which recounts a mysterious star from the east leading three "wise men" to the birthplace of Jesus. The Magi, as they are commonly known, should probably be understood as court astrologers, who interpreted astronomical events in light of their terrestrial political significance. Since the fourteenth century, many people have sought an explanation for the phenomenon of the star. The possibilities proposed are necessarily based on sparse evidence and include a comet, meteorite, supernova, or planetary conjunction.