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Sagittarius
Have you noticed the “new one?” Ophiuchus (pronounced or-phew-cuss) is the 13th zodiac sign, a summer constellation well-known to stargazers but overlooked by traditional astrology. It’s true! On November 29, the Sun enters the constellation of Ophiuchus and leaves on December 18… a period of the year typically associated with Sagittarius.
Many Sagitarians are actually Ophiucuns, despite the fact that many of us are the star sign before the one we assume we are.
When you look at the list of true star sign dates, you’ll notice that the Sun spends vastly varying amounts of time within each zodiacal constellation. It travels into Scorpio in a week and out in a week, while spending 45 days in Virgo.
It’s partly due to the fact that the star signs were reduced down to 12 (omitting Ophiuchus) and then rounded up to cover a month each.
The astrological star signs were established by the Babylonians who lived in Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq and Syria, around 3,000 years ago.
Precession is a natural process that occurs every 25,800 years and causes the Earth to wobble on its axis, much like a spinning top, due to the gravitational impact of the Moon. As a result, the “North Star” and the equinox positions are continually changing. In other words, the stars’ apparent locations have migrated west.
As a result, the Sun on your birthday is very unlikely to be in the same star sign as it is according to traditional astrology.
So the next time someone checks your horoscope or says something like “typical Capricorn!” you may be sure they’re talking nonsense. Because, in addition to giving meaning to alignments, which is illogical, their alignments are 3,000 years old.
Is Ophiuchus an uncommon species?
Aries is the second rarest zodiac sign, followed by Sagittarius, both of which are fire signs, according to Stardust.
According to Stardust, the first sign of the zodiac is Aries, which has a spark of creativity that “gets everyone going and moving.” According to Stardust, Sagittarius, the third rarest zodiac sign, “falls during the autumn season and are renowned to be adventurous and free-spirited.”
What are the 2020 zodiac signs?
According to Western astrology, there are 12 zodiac signs (meaning “signs of the zodiac”) “There are 13 constellations that the Sun travels through each year, not just a circle of animals:
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
Unfortunately, astrologers’ dates given to star signs are incorrect, in addition to neglecting Ophiuchus. Here’s what astrology claims happens in the night sky, based on its line-of-sight theory “Insights into people’s moods and fortunes:
The Sun’s position in the sky according to astrology (wrong)
Here’s where and when astrologers pretend the Sun is in the sky, dictating what the majority of people believe their birth star sign is:
- December 22nd to January 19th is Capricorn’s sign.
- January 20-February 18 is the sign of Aquarius.
- February 19March 20: Pisces
- Aries (March 21April 19) is the first sign of the zodiac.
- Taurus (April 20May 20) is the zodiac sign of Taurus.
- May 21June 20: Gemini
- Cancer is on the 21st of June and 22nd of July.
- Leo (July 23August 22) is the sign of the lion.
- August 23September 22: Virgo
- September 23October 22: Libra
- Scorpio: 23rd October 21st November
- November 22December 21: Sagittarius
The Sun’s actual position in the sky (correct)
This is when the Sun is in the constellations, hence your true “star sign,” with some astrological overlap and plenty of surprises:
- January 20February 16: Capricorn
- Aquarius: February 16th through March 11th
- Pisces (March 11April 18) is a water sign.
- April 18May 13: Aries
- May 13June 21: Taurus
- June 21July 20: Gemini
- July 20August 10 (Cancer) (21 days)
- August 10September 16 is the sign of Leo.
- September 16October 30 (45 days!) Virgo
- 30th of October 23rd of November
- Scorpio: November 23November 29 (just a week!) Scorpio: November 23November 29 (just a week!) Scorpio: November 23
- Ophiuchus (not an astrological sign of the zodiac, but very real!): November 29December 17 (not an astrological sign of the zodiac, but very real!)
- December 17th January 20th, Sagittarius
Because the Sun isn’t in the sign of the zodiac when astrology says it is, your horoscope is probably incorrect. Of course, none of this matters, but knowing why will help you have a better knowledge of the globe you live on.
What are the new zodiac signs for birth?
It all started with a story that had been resurfaced. Ophiuchus, or the serpent-bearer, is the 13th zodiac sign found by NASA. Anyone born between November 29 and December 17 is an Ophiuchus, not a Scorpio or a Sagittarius. Scorpio’s window would be reduced to just seven days, and the entire astrology chart would alter, resulting in different star signs for some Pisces, Leos, and Libras. As astrology fans on the internet began to panic, NASA stepped in to gently correct the record.
What are the signs that I’m an Ophiuchus?
These indicators, on the other hand, are not well calibrated. Using a celestial planisphere, we can observe that the Sun is in one of the lesser-known constellations, Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer or snake charmer, between November 30 and December 18. Those born between these dates are obligated to be born under the zodiac sign of Ophiuchus.
If we continue to observe the link between the location of the Sun and the background of stars, we will notice that very little corresponds to the horoscope-based calendar of signs:
TABLE: Actual zodiac signs, as defined by the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) constellation boundaries established in 1930.
Why does Ophiuchus not appear in the horoscope as a zodiac constellation? Why aren’t the dates the same? The reason for this is that when the horoscope was created 2,500 years ago in ancient Babylon, the Sun crossed over each of the zodiac constellations on different dates than it does today, around four weeks sooner.
According to modern scientists, the Sun enters Aries on April 19 every year like clockwork. The Sun, however, is like a clock that lags about a quarter of an hour each year due to the Earth’s axial precession. Over many years, the delay has grown to the point where the Sun now enters Aries almost a month after the Babylonians recorded the date and the horoscopes predict.
Theoretically, each person’s horoscope correlates to the sign that comes before the one that their present horoscope denotes. This, however, is not the case. The Sun only spends a week crossing Scorpio, and a month and a half in Virgo; these passage times are the same now as they were 2,500 years ago, and differ greatly from the Babylonian astrologers’ arbitrary division of one month for each sign of the horoscope, which omitted Ophiuchus in favor of a rounder number of 12 signs, as in the 12-month calendar.
Babylonian astrologers were able to determine when summer would arrive and when the best time to harvest would be by using that calendar. The social authority this gave them prompted them to broaden their forecasts to include things like the outcome of a fight or an individual’s characteristics based on their zodiac sign.
What is the spirit animal of Ophiuchus?
Were you born between the 30th of November and the 18th of December?
On your birthday, the sun will most likely pass in front of the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
I’m almost expecting to hear someone say:
You’re entirely correct. Because Ophiuchus is a constellation rather than a zodiac sign, this is the case. Continue reading to learn more about the differences between astrological signs and astronomical constellations, when and where to look for Ophiuchus, the deep-sky gems it holds, its mythology, science, and more.
Signs versus constellations
On August and September evenings, the Serpent Bearer stands tall in the south to southwest sky from Northern Hemisphere latitudes. Ophiuchus is closer to above from the Southern Hemisphere. Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpionis, is also close by.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) drew up the official boundary lines for all 88 constellations in the 1930s. Rasalhague, Ophiuchus’ brightest star, and Antares, Scorpius’ brightest star, are labeled in the photo below of the constellation Ophiuchus. Rasalhague is a bright star that marks Ophiuchus’ head, although it pales in comparison to Antares, the star that depicts the Scorpion’s beating heart.
Ophiuchus is in a bad way. Despite the fact that the ecliptic passes through him, no one ever claims him as a birth sign. After all, the zodiac band stretches 8 degrees north and south of the ecliptic, with a total width of 16 degrees. The constellations aren’t evenly distributed along this area in our sky, either. Everyone who reads astrological advice online is familiar with the zodiac signs. There are 12 zodiac signs: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and so forth. However, there is no Ophiuchus.
However, the moon and planets pass through Ophiuchus on a regular basis. Likewise, the sun. From about November 30 to December 18, the sun is in front of Ophiuchus.
Around November 21, or whenever the sun is exactly 30 degrees west of the December solstice point, the sun is said to enter the sign of Sagittarius. On the December 21 solstice, the sun enters the sign of Capricorn. So, regardless of the sun shining in front of the constellation Ophiuchus from November 30 to December 18, the sun passes through the sign Sagittarius for the month leading up to the December solstice.
By the way, in around 72 years, the December solstice point advances one degree westward in front of the zodiacal constellationsor backdrop stars. By the year 2269, the December solstice point will have finally moved into the constellation Ophiuchus.
When and where to locate Ophiuchus
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is the ideal time to see Ophiuchus (Southern Hemisphere winter). Late July and early August in the Northern Hemisphere show this constellation high in the southern sky during twilight and early evening. On fall evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, it can be visible in the southwest sky.
This relatively large constellation lies to the north of Scorpius the Scorpion and to the south of Hercules the Hero in the sky. If you’re familiar with the brightest star in Scorpius, Antares, try star-hopping to Ophiuchus from this crimson beauty. The star Rasalhague appears on Ophiuchus’ skull (Alpha Ophiuchi).
In tradition and in the sky, Ophiuchus is associated with the Serpent constellation.
If you have a dark sky, you might notice that this is one constellation that looks exactly how it should: a large man holding a snake.
Ophiuchus is derived from two Greek words that signify serpent and holding.
Deep-sky objects in Ophiuchus
Take your binoculars and scan Ophiuchus, which lies in the Milky Way band and has numerous deep-sky wonders, on a night when the moon isn’t visible. For example, Ophiuchus has a lot of globular clusters. M10 and M12 are the two simplest globular clusters to see with conventional binoculars, as seen in the chart above. They seem as weak puffs of light via binoculars, but with a telescope, you can see these globular clusters for what they are. They’re massive stellar metropolis with hundreds of thousands of stars that span a hundred to a few hundred light-years in diameter.
The Pipe Nebula, a massive interstellar cloud of gas and dust spreading across nearly 7 degrees of sky, is another big deep-sky favorite. That’s about the width of three to four fingers at arm’s length. This dark nebula is located in southern Ophiuchus at a distance of 600 to 700 light-years and can be viewed with the naked eye in a dark, transparent sky. The Pipe Nebula is located to the east of Antares and to the north of Shaula and Lesath. The above chart shows these two stars (but not the Pipe Nebula).
Ophiuchus in myth and star lore
Ophiuchus represents Asclepius, the Greek deity of medicine and doctors, in Greek mythology. He is always shown with a large serpent or snake in his hand. A snake’s venom can either kill or cure, depending on how it’s utilized. Asclepius is claimed to have manufactured a healing elixir from Serpens the Serpent’s venom, Gorgon’s blood, and an unknown herb. Until the god of the underworld, Pluto, appealed to the king of the gods, this potion granted humanity immortality. Pluto urged Zeus to rethink the consequences of death’s death.
We have no idea how Pluto made his case. Maybe he just said that what never lives never dies, and that no mortal can have one without the other. Sophocles may have summed up the myth’s core theme when he said:
It is preferable to die and sleep the never-waking slumber than to live after the soul’s life has passed.
In his Four Quartets, poet T.S. Eliot may have mirrored the notion of the ever-living story:
We perish in the company of the dying:
We are born with the dead in our midst:
In any case, according to legend, Zeus seized the elixir, exiled Asclepius from Earth, and enshrined the great physician in the celestial realms. Today, the Staff of Asclepius, a symbol of the World Health Organization and other medical organizations, pays homage to this myth and mirrors the magnificent celestial shape of Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer constellation.
Ophiuchus in history and science
A supernova explosion of a star within our own Milky Way galaxy hasn’t been seen in almost 400 years. However, in the year 1604, a supernova known as Kepler’s Supernova blasted into the scene, allowing for 18 months of naked-eye sight. It sparkled in the southern hemisphere of Ophiuchus, not far from the Pipe Nebula.
Tycho’s Supernova, which lighted up Cassiopeia in 1572, was followed by Kepler’s Supernova in 1604. The Aristotelian notion of an unchangeable world outside the orbit of the moon was shattered by these supernovae, which sent shock waves through Europe’s elite. Tycho Brahe measured the 1572 supernova’s parallax, proving that it was not an atmospheric phenomenon. In reality, the supernova flashed well beyond the orbit of the moon. Shortly after, in 1604, Kepler’s Supernova seemed to hammer home the point once more.
Furthermore, in 1577, Tycho Brahe estimated the distance of a comet and discovered that it was also farther away than the moon. Aristotelians wanted to believe comets were gases burning in the atmosphere, but Tycho disproved Aristotle’s unchanging universe theory once more.
Bottom line: For nearly two weeks each year, the sun passes through the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, making Ophiuchus an unofficial member of the zodiac. Learn the difference between astrological signs and astronomy constellations, as well as how to find Ophiuchus.
Is there any truth to the zodiac signs?
Is astrology accurate? Reading horoscopes is a popular pastime, but is there any scientific evidence that they are accurate?
When you’re enticed by a familiar interruption and your willpower weakens, problems can occur.
Every day, up to 70 million Americans consult their horoscopes. At least, that’s what the American Federation of Astrologers claims. According to a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life poll conducted twenty years ago, 25% of Americans believe that the positions of the stars and planets have an impact on our daily life. In 2012, the General Social Survey indicated that 34% of Americans think astrology is “extremely” or “kind of scientific,” with the percentage of individuals who think astrology is “not at all scientific” dropping from two-thirds to about half.
Astrology is the concept that astronomical phenomena, such as the stars over your head when you were born or the fact that Mercury is retrograde, have the potential to influence our daily lives and personality traits. Of course, this is distinct from astronomy, which is the scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the physics of the cosmos.
A particular facet of astrology, the foretelling of a person’s future or the provision of daily counsel via horoscopes, is gaining in popularity. The Cut, for example, recorded a 150 percent rise in horoscope page views in 2017 compared to 2016.
Clearly, a lot of people are trying to figure out how to read the stars for guidance. Understanding the positions of the stars is the foundation of astrology, which appears to be a scientific discipline in and of itself. Is there any scientific evidence that astrology has an impact on our personalities and lives?
But, since I still have five minutes of this six-minute podcast to fill, let’s take a look at how astrology has been put to the test.
What is the correct pronunciation of Ophiuchus?
All of you who were born between November 29 and December 17 are experiencing identity difficulties this week, as Ophiuchus, the 13th zodiac sign that NASA discovered in 2011, resurfaces in the news. But how can you possibly ask all of your burning questions on the subject if you don’t know how to pronounce Ophiuchus? I understand your discomfort, and I am #HereForYou, as someone who just botched an attempt to say it in front of an entire office. So there you have it, folks: The word Ophiuchus is pronounced /fijuks/, or “oh-FEW-kuss” in simple English. It doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Cancer” or “Taurus,” but when it comes to the time window in which you’re born, beggars can’t be choosers, right?
Since NASA announced it in 2011, the concept of a “13th zodiac sign” has sparked a lot of debate, partly because it shook up individuals who take astrology seriously and had been following their own signs. People who belong within the “Ophiuchus” domain once exclusively identified as Scorpio or Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus built its home right between those two signs.