Mark Matney, a planetary scientist, pointed to an object recorded by the Chinese from 5BC - a bright comet that was visible for more than 70 days.

His analysis in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association comes as the spectacle - also known as the Christmas Star - has proved a subject of debate amongst astronomers for centuries.

In the Gospel of Matthew the star shows the way to the baby Jesus - first appearing 'in the east' before it 'goes before' them on a short journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

According to the Biblical narrative, it then 'stands over' the place where Jesus was born.

While many have chosen to see the star as a miracle or a myth, Mr Matney has now suggested it did in fact exist - as a comet that nearly struck the earth some 2,000 years ago.

With historians typically placing Jesus's birth somewhere between 6BC and 5BC, Mr Matney analysed an object from Ancient Chinese records, identifying a range of possible orbits consistent with the observations.

One reconstruction of the object's movement suggested it would have become visible on a June morning in 5BC.

Travellers moving south, towards Bethlehem, could have potentially spotted it 'going before' them and then lingering overhead.

'This is the first astronomical candidate for the Star ever identified that could have had apparent motion corresponding to the description in Matthew, where the Star "went before" the Magi on their journey to Bethlehem until it "stood over" where the child Jesus was,' Mr Matney wrote in his study.

He said a comet that had passed so close by might 'easily have been visible in the daytime' and would have been 'extraordinarily bright'.

At least 400 scholarly attempts have been made to explain the truth of the Star of Bethlehem, among them, claims of a supernova or an exploding star that would have appeared suddenly.

Others have simply brushed off its existence as either a miracle or a myth.