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Astronomy/An astronomical look at the Zodiac constelations

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Expert: Steven LJ Russo - 9/5/2009


Question
I am in a constant debate with my mother over "astrology" of which, I hold no weight in and find to be fundamentally flawed. She refuses to accept the relevance of the Ophiuchus constellation’s presence on the Zodiac and constantly accuses me of being "a stereotypical Aquarius" and I would like to find out if the sun was even in the Aquarius constellation at the time of my birth. And I would like to find out if, or by how much, it changes or shifts each year?
For reference, I was born at 1:06am on 02/05/1987


Answer

Dates.
Well the first thing I would like to say is that you are intelligent enough to not "believe" in Astrology.  Its all BS!

The shift each year is not a lot, but over 2000 years of time, the shift is about one "sign". This shift is due to the wobble of the Earth's axis, called Precession.

Basically what it comes down to, is that all the charts used by astrologers are 2000 years out of date.  They of course won't admit that, because if they did, they would be admitting to fraud.

I have attached, I hope, a chart that I drew up a couple of years ago, showing where the Sun was 2000 years ago (astrological dates), compared to where it is in our modern era of Astronomical dates.  So unless you were born 2000 years ago, the Sun was in Capricorn when you were born.  You can also see that the Sun spends very little time in Scorpius (9 days), compared to Ophiuchus (19 days.

And it all doesn't matter anyway, since the Sun, Moon, Planets, and stars have nothing to do with our traits or how we run our lives.

Steve

    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentMany thanks, I truly appreciate your insight into this debate. I also found it interesting to discover that my mother falls into Ophiuchus' dates.


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Steven LJ Russo

Expertise

As a space science educator in a planetarium, my work centers around teaching people about the night sky and the solar system. I have a strong background in those areas, plus the history of NASA and spaceflight, and meteorology.

Experience

Experience in the area. I have been an amateur astronomer for 47 years, and have been teachng space science in planetariums for 34 years. For 15 years I was a radio and television meteorologist, and for the past 20 years I have been a space science writer for two newspapers in New York State. I am a member of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society and the International Planetarium Society. I have had a number of articles published in several astronomy journals, including "The Constellation" and the "Planetarian". Education/Credentials. I hold a B. S. from Wagner College and an M. S. from State University of New York at Oswego. Awards and Honors. I have been awarded the "Fellows" award from the International Planetarium Society for more than 20 years of continuous service in the planetarium field.

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