One of the challenges facing amateur astronomers when explaining their hobby to the general public is that we often get mixed up with astrologers. No, it’s not the same thing! How often have I had to insist “AstroNomy, not astroLogy. Telescopes, not horoscopes!”
For years astronomers have insisted that, no, astrology is not a science. Just look at the out-dated star charts on which astrologers base their predictions. All woefully out of date, since they haven’t been updated since Babylonian times. And I get nervous when my iPhone app is two months old…
But why does this matter? Because of precession.
The fixed stars are not quite as fixed as they appear. The Earth wobbles slightly, like a spinning top, so over the span of a few thousand years the north pole actually points toward different directions in the sky. As a consequence the Sun’s path through the zodiacal signs also shifts slightly. Actually, by now the path has shifted quite a bit. In fact, there are a few zodiacal signs which are merely grazed by the Sun’s path, and for the last few hundred years the ecliptic crosses a thirteenth’s constellation: Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer.
You may have caught a few news snippets about this “new” zodiacal sign about two weeks ago. A bit of a problem for astrologers, who are now scrambling to justify their “science” and why Ophiuchus has not been integrated into their charts. Others are already busy assigning a long list of character traits to the new sign and are getting ready for the inevitable database upgrade.
Will the new zodiac catch on? Is the newest trend going to be a plethora of Ophiuchan accessories and a new chat-up line at singles bars? Time will tell. Personally, I will try to have a more balanced view on this issue, now that I’ve just found out I’m actually a Libra.
Thank you, Jaymie Matthews, for posting these slides on your Facebook page. They are part of a presentation Jaymie made to his astronomy students earlier this year.
For a few articles on the Ophiuchus debate, click here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/ophiuchus-meaning_n_809237.html#s224382&title=Karen_DaltonBeninato
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/culture/110113/zodiac-signs-astrology-ophiuchus
http://the-red-thread.net/ophiuchus2.html
