A NASA article designed to expose and separate astrology from astronomy has confused the media and "broke" horoscopes.
Since yesterday evening, the Russian media has been seething with news that scientists from the American space agency NASA have discovered the 13th sign of the zodiac called Ophiuchus. Journalists noted that the statement of scientists makes adjustments to the existing canon of drawing up horoscopes. In fact, the press's conclusion turned out to be too pretentious: no one discovered any constellations, it was about the long-known fact of the existence of Ophiuchus, the understanding of the cosmos by the ancient inhabitants of Babylon and the explanation why astrology should not be considered a science. It is worth noting that the article is posted on the Nasa Space Place website, which is a children's educational project.
In an article published back in January 2016, the author tells young readers about how astronomers studied the world in ancient times. The text provides a simple explanation of what the Zodiac or the Zodiac circle is, how celestial bodies move relative to the Earth, and so on.
“The Babylonians lived more than three thousand years ago. They divided the Zodiac into 12 equal pieces - like cutting a pizza into 12 equal pieces. They chose 12 zodiac signs, one for each of the 12 “lobes.” Since the earth revolves around the sun, the star will pass through each of the 12 parts of the zodiac. Since the Babylonians already had a 12-month calendar (based on the phases of the moon), every month got one piece from the Zodiac, - says the NASA article.
