You forgot #6. #6 is that the event we're discussing is THE extraordinary. God didn't become man awaiting the planets to align or a star to explode. The God who commands the Heavens does whatever God wants. We've given up on the spiritual in this world, and that is a major factor in our decline. If we can get people to disbelieve the soul aspect of life, then they will live only for this one. Merry Christmas
Why not an ordinary nova pretty close, e.g. within ~100 ly? My impression is that this could readily leave a remnant small enough and short-lived enough that we would be hard-pressed to observe it today, unless we knew exactly where to look. And if it happened close enough, it doesn't have to be very bright -- a 5th mag star suddenly becoming 1st or 0th mag would be quite dramatic. And it would stay that bright for maybe 10-30 days, which is long enough for wise men to get to Bethlehem from Baghdad or Alexandria.
You forgot #6. #6 is that the event we're discussing is THE extraordinary. God didn't become man awaiting the planets to align or a star to explode. The God who commands the Heavens does whatever God wants. We've given up on the spiritual in this world, and that is a major factor in our decline. If we can get people to disbelieve the soul aspect of life, then they will live only for this one. Merry Christmas
Why not an ordinary nova pretty close, e.g. within ~100 ly? My impression is that this could readily leave a remnant small enough and short-lived enough that we would be hard-pressed to observe it today, unless we knew exactly where to look. And if it happened close enough, it doesn't have to be very bright -- a 5th mag star suddenly becoming 1st or 0th mag would be quite dramatic. And it would stay that bright for maybe 10-30 days, which is long enough for wise men to get to Bethlehem from Baghdad or Alexandria.