Houston There’s So Many Problems

Sai Sondh

Photojournalist

In late September , the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officially announced the 13th zodiac, Ophiuchus. In a spur of confusion, anger, and bewilderment, many people from across the globe took to the media to attack NASA on the program’s endeavors, as it did not agree with their agendas. While this led to many altercations and contradictions to the beliefs held by thousands of people worldwide, the space program explains the misinterpretation of the sign.

The faulty, originating from an article founded on the agency’s website, explains how the zodiac signs were centric and best suited to fit the Babylonian calendar.  NASA claimed the zodiac as being divided into 12 equal fragments, which resembled the months presented on the Babylonian calendar. This later became accepted as the zodiacs used in Western culture:Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Each of which evenly categorized into the four subdivisions of Earth’s elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

“But,” the agency remarks, “according to the Babylonians’ own ancient stories, there were 13 constellations in the zodiac...the Babylonians picked one, Ophiuchus, to leave out.” While the Babylonians were aware of the sign and the traits pertaining to it- characterized as one of rebellion, secrecy, and intelligence- it had no place in the calendar.

As the story inclined in fame, many people began to question the media and contradicting data conflicting with their zodiac sign. To alleviate the misunderstanding, NASA took to Tumblr, claiming, “here at NASA, we study astronomy, not astrology. We didn’t change the astrology, we just did the math.”  

NASA remarks that while Western Astrology does remain true to the Babylonian philosophy, many shifts have occurred over the millennia that has altered the data- especially the shift in the Earth’s axis. While the Earth has not decayed in mass or size, it’s position and alignment to constellations have, which play an accounted affect to the spirituality behind Western astrology.

While the Earth’s axis has veered, astrology has not. According to Western astrology, the zodiac is not dependant on Earth’s axis, but instead the Sun’s placement and path from the Earth.

While there is still a flurry amongst the crowd, NASA’s livelihood is to provide factual data and evidence. The agency states that, “astronomers and other scientists know that stars many light years away have no effect on the ordinary activities of humans on Earth.”