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Subscribe to RSSIt seems that the world was shocked to learn this week that astrology no longer reflects astronomical realities. But such shifts are merely part of the routine in a changing universe. They don't always come to our attention, but they can make more of a difference in your daily life than your horoscope.
Parke Kunkle, an astronomer who teaches at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, set off an Internet-wide viral buzz when the Star-Tribune published his observation that the constellations don't match the traditional astrological signs. Back in the days of Babylonian soothsayers, the sun might have been in the constellation Capricorn at this time of year. But due to the changing tilt of Earth's axis, it's actually in Sagittarius right now.
Today, Kunkle told MSNBC that his phone has been ringing off the hook — and he doesn't know why this has turned into such a big deal. "What we've been doing is just a standard astronomy lesson that we talk about in every astronomy class," he said.
Over the course of thousands of years, Earth's axis wobbles like a top, and as a result the apparent position of the sun against the constellations varies. The boundaries of the constellations have become more sharply defined as well, which means the sun doesn't spend equal amounts of time in each of the zodiacal "signs." In fact, the sun passes through a 13th constellation — Ophiuchus the serpent bearer — which throws off the whole traditional 12-house system that astrologers swear by.
Of course, most people don't give any credence to astrology, with or without Ophiuchus. A 2005 Gallup Poll found that only about a quarter of Americans believe that the position of stars or planets can affect their lives. And even if you are a believer, the planetary shift doesn't magically transform you from a Virgo to a Leo. "This doesn't change your chart at all," Shelly Ackerman, an astrologer and spokeswoman for the American Federation of Astrologers, told The Associated Press.
The same advice holds for other astrological systems. For example, it's still the Chinese Year of the Tiger (well, at least until February). The fact is that the practice of astrology is separate from the modern science of astronomy, even though ancient cultures spent so much effort on astronomy mainly so that astrologers could do their job better.
Earth's cosmic shifts have had other effects as well. Just for luck, here are seven examples:
Changing pole star: Another effect of Earth's wobbling axis is that different stars have served as the guide star for our planet's geographical north pole throughout history. During the heyday of the Egyptian pharaohs, for example, other stars took on the role of the pole star, an "undying" star that never set. This is thought to be the reason why the Great Pyramid of Khufu was built with a passageway that pointed to the star Thuban in the constellation Draco, which was the star closest to the north pole when Khufu died, around 2566 B.C. Later on, the pole stars were Kochab and Pherkad in the constellation Ursa Minor. Today it's Polaris, but the bright star Vega had its turn around 12,000 B.C. and will be the pole star once again in the year 13,727 or so.
Changing magnetic poles: Last week's big geophysical story had to do with the gradual shift of Earth's magnetic north pole away from Canada and toward Russia. The poles move because of the changing flow of molten iron in Earth's core, which drives the planet's huge magnetic dynamo. This doesn't affect Earth's spin or geographical north, but it does cause the structure of the magnetic field to shift, which affects compasses. Although a lot of navigation nowadays is done using GPS systems, the Federal Aviation Administration wants to make sure that aviators can still find their way to a safe landing using magnetic compasses — and that's why it requires airports to revise their runway designations periodically to reflect the magnetic shift.
Shifting continents: Earth's continents are on the move as well, and over the course of millions of years, that has affected the course of evolution. "The continents are drifting at about the same rate that your fingernails are growing," Phil Plait, the astronomer who presides over the Bad Astronomy blog, told me. If you go back 180 million years or so, nearly all of Earth's land mass was united in one large continent called Pangea, which meant land-based organisms could spread far and wide. Since then, the continents have drifted apart, separating populations and leading to the rise of new species. The breakup of Pangea helps explain why kangaroos thrived in Australia but not America.
Uneven gravity: Just as Earth's magnetic field has its variations, so does Earth's gravitational field. Readings from the European Space Agency's GOCE satellite have plotted the subtle differences in our planet's mass distribution, on land and in the oceans. "You'd think gravity is the same everywhere, until you start delving really deep into it," said Alice Enevoldsen, planetarium supervisor at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle (and the blogger behind Alice's Astro Info). Variations in Earth's mass could help explain how ocean circulation works and lead to better climate prediction models.
Inconstant sun: Speaking of climate, the variations in solar irradiance play a significant role in the warming and cooling trends experienced on our planet as well as on others. Some suggest that the sun is a bigger factor than human industrial activity when it comes to global climate change. Most climate scientists say greenhouse-gas emissions have been playing a more significant role lately, but variations in the amount of solar radiation hitting the planet are definitely a factor as well. Last year, one study found that the amount of solar energy reaching Earth increased even though the sun was at the low point in its 11-year activity cycle. And just today, scientists reported that the solar energy levels were actually lower than previously thought.
Lengthening day: If it seems as if each day is longer than the last, you're right. But that's just because Earth is slowing down ever so slightly every day. Gravitational tugs from other celestial bodies (principally the moon and the sun) are causing the "great slowdown," as my colleague David Ropeik explained back in 2001. It's thought that when the moon formed, billions of years ago, a full day was six hours long, and that the day lasted less than 23 hours when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Nowadays, leap seconds are periodically added to keep atomic clocks in sync — most recently at the end of 2008.
Galactic tides: Our solar system's path through the Milky Way galaxy is subject to shifts as well. Scientists have noted that Earth's biodiversity seems to dip every 60 million years or so, at just about the time when the solar system bobs up through the average plane of the Milky Way's disk. Last month, researchers suggested that the rise through the galactic plane exposed the solar system to a surge of cosmic rays, dealing a damaging blow to life on Earth. Some scientists have also wondered whether the solar system's galactic oscillations might periodically send more comets into the solar system (killing off, let's say, the dinosaurs). This definitely sounds like a bad thing, and depending on who's doing the talking, we're either "very close" to the next risky period, or 10 million years away.
That puts this whole question over whether you're a Virgo or a Leo in perspective, doesn't it?
Update for 2:30 p.m. ET Jan. 15: I initially wrote that astrology is "totally divorced" from modern astronomy, but that's an overstatement. Astrologers still depend on accurate determinations of celestial bodies' positions in the sky, as seen from Earth. They incorporate astronomical advances as well, such as the discovery of additional dwarf planets. But the way they interpret that information is different from how astronomers would interpret it.
Take the constellations, for example: Some commenters have noted that when an astrologer says the sun is "in the house of Aries," that doesn't mean the sun is actually in the astronomical constellation of Aries. In astrology, the sun enters Aries at the time of the March equinox, as explained here by EarthSky. The sky is then divided into 12 houses (named after constellations) that take up equal amounts of angular distance around the celestial equator. Thus, the astrological signs do not correspond precisely with the astronomical constellations as they're defined today, and they never did.
In ancient times, the "first point of Aries" occurred when the sun was actually in the astronomical constellation of Aries. No more. Now the sun is in the constellation of Pisces for the March equinox, and by the time Earth wobbles its way to the year 2600 it will be in Aquarius for the start of northern spring. For astronomers, that will be the true dawning of the age of Aquarius, although some astrologers (and songwriters) argue that the Aquarian age has already begun.
Astrologers borrow quite a bit from astronomy, but generally speaking, the only professional interest that astronomers take in astrology is historical — since, as noted above, the roots of astronomy go back to ancient beliefs about the connections between the cosmos and our destinies. It's a natural human yearning. I'll bet that at least one or two young astronomers have checked their "love signs" at some point, even if they haven't written a research paper about it.
More on scientific paradigm shifts:
- Technolog: How Twitter snowballed the zodiac
- Vote: Has your opinion of astrology changed?
- Scientists give the periodic table a makeover
- Earth's timeline: How continents clashed
- Scientists question fundamental laws
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" our Facebook page, or by following msnbc.com's science editor, Alan Boyle, on Twitter (@boyle).
Leave a Comment:
If astrology were real science like mathematics or physics, this would be the equivalent of rounding off PI to 3, or changing Einstein's equation to E=MC 3.
its not a science at all, so it cant really be dubbed real or not real. just another tradition passed down like religion. cept of course less humans have been massacred because of their astrological beliefs
True enough, but I watched an "Unsolved Mysteries" rerun the other day wherein an astrologer was asked to make up a full astrological chart for a series of people, whose birthdays were provided. Most of the birthdays were for average people, but in the mix were several serial killers. The creepy part? The astrologer successfully identified each and every serial killer as being potentially dangerous or homicidal. When they revealed that to her, she was naturally ecstatic.
I'm no firm believer in astrology, but that impressed me.
Really... You're citing an episode on "Unsolved Mysteries" as potential justification for giving astrology some credence? Why not add further support by citing episodes from the "X-files" and "The Twilight Zone?"
On an unrelated note, I am pleasantly surprised that "Unsolved Mysteries" is still on the air...
Hey now, Unsolved Mysteries is a valid show that has caught hundreds of felons, just like Americas Most Wanted. It's not a fictional show-- though they sometimes present "mysteries" that are surrounded by a lot of fiction, like the Bermuda Triangle. Still, in this instance, the show took the stance of the skeptic and put an astrologer to the test. I'm as surprised that she passed as you are!
Maybe there's something to the whole 2012 theory, Mayan calender. Before you know it Nibiru might be coming our way and we won't have to stress out any more how the zodiac signs changed for some of us
science like religion searches for truth but its main flaw is that it only deals with the physical world anything otherwise apparently does not exist or has no meaning. This is its major flaw. You can only detect the physical with physical instruments! How do you detect something otherwise you may ask, easy! its called meditation, concentration, and trance states which all deal with consciousness and direct experience not from without but from within and not chemical reactions.
Scott, science does not deal with the interpretation of direct experience or "consciousness", that is the realm of new age and faith healing. It does, however, deal directly with how those states come about in our physical bodies.
except the zodiacs changed quite a long time ago, its just VOGUE to note it now so wackos yell out 2012 2012 2012
And besides, recent research shows that we may be off of the Mayan calender by YEARS or that Dec. 21st 2012 is just the end of that calender and we begin a new calender :P
Western astrology is not based on astronomy and never was so this whole hoopla is misinformation. And Eastern Astrology which does used sun centric calculations already has these shifts in signs so it's not even news. Astrology is based on statistical and observational patterns of human behavior during seasons which has been categorized into signs and put on planetary bodies from the point of view of earth.
Just like Feng shui, blood type personality, and Myers-Briggs. Mountains of observation and statistics are recorded on all of these... and all of it is rather pointless when the premise of each is complete bunk.
None have gotten beyond simple correlation, but all are fun ideas that are shared easily since they are really simple explanations to complex things. I know, I know... it's just what any Libra would say.
Put more simply, Astronomy deals with facts, and Astrology is crap.
More accurately, science deals with the physical universe and explains it.
Not necessarily.
While science is the greatest instrument mankind has ever produced, I think there's a certain stigma in limiting science with the black and white realms of physicality, while limiting our passion and drive to explore the unknown. While I don't believe in the supernatural realm, it sometimes feels limiting to take science away from the "unknown" and limit it to natural terms? It could be one day we discover certain aspects that seem supernatural or beyond the natural, are more than likely still within the physical universe, but outside our current scientific limitations, therefore cloaked in mystery. But, we must accept mystery and not belittle it's very real power. This is why people are so often skeptical of science. They have very real, transcendent experiences of veneration, and we are telling them they are misunderstanding these experiences. But, they are not. They are simply defining them in limiting terms of manmade notions of magisteria.
Partly, this is why I feel people have such a problem with parting from religion. They feel science is dry and lacking in the majestical-qualities they can develop through their faith. But, this couldn't be further from the truth. It's through the discoveries of science that we capture even greater questions and mysteries about the world. It's a shame we're not able to capture the imaginations of those so passionate about the non-science of astrology. There is such a wondrous realm of very real science out there that they could be discovering ... and, even contributing to. I'll never understand it. How can anyone listen to Sagan speak about the aesthetics of the universe, yet find more beauty in a burning bush, or a set script-reading of what their personality traits are simply through the accidence of their birth month? Perhaps that is the true miracle. The fact that such passion still lies within misinformation a pseudoscience even though there are an infinite number of very real beauties and mysteries found within our lives and our universe.
Neil deGrasse sums it up best: "Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool. That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us."
chad -loved you comments!
Heard about Ophiuchus 40 years ago, no big deal about number 13....
The signs of the zodiac are defined mathematically from the starting point of the vernal equinox each year. They are not defined by the constellations.
Scientist and astronomers are so called "Stumped" because they dont understand why everyone is upset over the zodiac changes. Well lets see
1. You have been telling us for years, that everyone is born under a certain sign, their personalities are because of a certain sign, and that pretty much everything within our society is based on our zodiac signs, in which it claimed we are all born under
2. You have had advanced knowledge in this for years, and kept it withheld from the public, and THEN bring it up in the year 2011, that pretty much everything you have told us over the years could be false, and that you don't understand why WE didn't know it, after it was brainwashed, and manipulated into our being.
What else should we know that's currently being withheld from us AGAIN! that we should know?
Is there life on other planets?
Is there a asteroid coming, that is going to hit Antarctica that can raise our ocean's level by 70 meters?
What happened to all of the worlds bee population?
How unstable is our sun right now?
What condition is our earth's magnetic field in right now?
Is the mass animal die off happening because of the gravitational changes and pole shifting? or chemicals being sprayed on us as a direct attack on humanity?
Are the world weather disasters caused, by these shifts? or is it man-made devices that's causing them?
How is are status on the world's food supply at this moment?
Is there really something due to happen in 2012? or are you afraid to tell us, because you think we cant handle it?
How can you look your children in the face, after you emerge from your underground bunkers, and explain to them, that the horrors that they are witnessing due to a possible world shifting disaster, could have been properly prepared, if only you didn't withhold this information, and that you are also responsible for the death of their friends in which they made in a school that no longer exist?
Will you ever tell us the truth about these questions? or are you just going to brush them off, and continue building underground bunkers, seed vaults, and continue planning interplanetary space colonies in which we are all not apart off, so that we can get the suspicion that something catastrophic is just moments away from happening?
Ignorance is bliss!
1. Modern scientists have never been involved with the Signs of the Zodiac and personality traits. That is the work of astrologers, a cult based on preconceived dogma.
2. Astronomers have known about the difference between Signs of the Zodiac of astrology and the constellations of astronomy for hundreds of years. It is something taught in basic science and astronomy classes dealing with the cosmos. It is not something that just happened, it is only something you just became aware of.
You should strive to educate yourself, enroll in some classes. The internet is not the place to get an education.
Oh please - do you really not understand the difference between an astronomer and an astrologist?
If not, send me $50 and I will predict your future for you (hint - in the future you are going to be scammed by many, many people, because you are too lazy to invest time in learning about science).
Shadowhand18
Relax...you goober!
Scientist never said anything about being born under any sign. in fact they've been telling us that its bull@!$%# for centuries. And, also, are you paranoid-schizophrenic by any chance?
Let me be more specific:
Sorry for the confusion, but I should have gotten more in depth. Many websites are promoting that astronomers are surprised at the attention this is getting. What I was trying to say, was that these people lie to us for so long about everything, then try to act surprise when the truth actually comes out. I was merely using the statement that many websites are saying I should have been more specific forgive me. As for scientist, they are fully aware of whats going on out there, but we are the ones being left in the dark. As for me enrolling in classes I don't have to because I actually graduated from college, so thank you for the advice. I'll relax and quit being a goober when:
A. Were told how many planets we have been to
B. When the truth comes out about why all our animals are dying, and how serious the pole shifts are
C. When our race is free from this manipulated mindset from which people don't even realize they are in
have a nice day. Oh one more thing I'm not paranoid or schizoprhenic, I just want the human race to be free from all the lies and deceit.
Don't forget to ask your elected representatives if they've stopped beating their spouses, while you're at it.
what I find funniest is that the light from the stars takes so long to reach us, not only aren't the planets "in" the constellations we see, the constellations themselves aren't really there either; the light we see now can be a hundred, a thousand, a million years old and the stars could be on the other side of our sky by now. Or they could have novaed. We won't know till today's light reaches us many, many years from now--well beyond the point where anyone alive now would care what their horoscope said for today.
That would make for an interesting hard science fiction novel. Humans finally achieve FTL travel, get to a star they're pretty sure has a livable planet...only to find its not there.
Pretty sure it's been covered, but damn, good story though.
People saying the zodiac has changed are astronomers creating confusion, not astrologers. In astrology, the ancient Babylonians picked out arbitrary constellations in 12 sections of the sky for the observations they saw in people born throughout those 12 times of the year. The times of year and 12 groups of people (signs) have not changed, only the view of the made up constellations has shifted because of a wobble in the axis of the earth over thousands of years. Western astrology doesn't rely at all on the man created constellations themselves only the TIME of year and position of the earth at that time, so all the media attention created by astronomers is baseless. They should at least know what they are talking about before criticizing, and shame on MSNBC for not giving the facts on what astrology actually is whether you believe in it or not.
Sadly, I think the only reason this has been tied into astrology at all is because it makes the story more interesting. If you see "Earth not quite on same kilter as it was 10,000 years ago" as a headline, you'll probably skip it unless you're invested in the scientific community. On the other hand, a headline saying "Remember that Aries tattoo you got? Have we got a surprise for you!" is gonna grab a LOT more people. I just hope it's never discovered that someone got the names of the Roman gods mixed up, because this is the headline we'd probably see: "Mix-up of Roman gods sparks debate on changing names of planets"
Worse, in most cultures it would read "Names of days of week are wrong"
How can anyone be "shocked" that a 4000 year old superstition no longer is relevant?
If anyone in the world was shocked to learn what any high-school senior should already know - that astrology has never been an accurate reflection of what happens in the heavens - then it merely serves as another demonstration of the dumbing-down of our educational system, and the laziness of people who would believe what they want to believe, rather than to investigate for themselves.
More interesting is:
And if 87% of Americans identify themselves as christian...what were those first two commandments again ?
If your belief system is based on the zodiac you're hopelessly lost and desperately need to get a grip on what is real.
edmgeno -
Thank you, you hit it on the nail. I guess the data really shows that most people are just confused. Thinking is really hard.
It's not only that, but superstitions are powerful in of themselves. The whole "knock on wood", or "bless me/you" lest your soul runs off. Where I grew up, there was a one where students shoved a penny under the door to a maintenance closet so the kappa wouldn't turn out lunch bad (third grade...but powerful stuff then).
All systems that claim to provide an understanding of reality must be measured by their results.
Science has extended our lifetimes and the quality of our lives. It has taken us to the moon and has given us models by which to understand the nature of matter and the origins of the universe. It has allowed us to create those wonderful smartphones. And all of these accomplishments have occurred in the recent and short history of modern science.
Now remind me again, what are the great achievements and milestones of human development provided by astrology in the roughly 3,000 years since it was dreamt up?
As a young child, several of my beliefs were shattered when my father took me by both shoulders and said in a stern voice: "There is no Easter Bunny! No Santa! And, the Sign you were born under was Hospital!" To this day, I am not sure I entirely recovered from that exchange. Secretly, however, I still believe in forest nymphs and winning the Lottery.
This is interesting information, but to me one of the best observations was about our closeness to the Milky Way galaxy and the change in life on earth.
Look up Richard Tarnas...I am amazed Alan hasn't used him in this discussion. Maybe he hasn't heard of him.
But anyway, also consider high profile people of history that had a belief in a connection with the cosmos. Call it astrology or call it hocus pocus or call it your momma...it doesn't matter...the idea that humans stand alone and separate from the cosmos is at least as strange as humans being apart of it on some level.
Carl Jung and synchronicity is something to be considered.
Do you mean Ronny Reagan ? Isn't there an article today about Alziemers (sp?) on him on nv ? Nancy and him dabbled in the occult (astrology).
Joan Quigley (born April 10, 1927), of San Francisco, is an astrologer best known for her astrological advice to the Reagan White House in the 1980s. Quigley was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
She was called on by First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981 after John Hinckley's attempted assassination of the president, and stayed on as the White House astrologer in secret until being outed in 1988 by ousted former chief of staff Donald Regan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Quigley
Hey, not sure if my comment is relevant here or not - maybe to this blog site in general. Anyway what I have is more of a question than a statement relevant to this article.
If the furthest edges of the Universe are accelerating away from us and continue to do so, what will happen when they begin to approach (or even reach) the speed of light?
Is this possible? I don't know, but if it is then we have no way of knowing how many Suns, Planets and entire Galaxies are now accelerating away from us faster than their light can travel back to us!
Food for thought.
Goodness sugar, are you having a slow day? Let us start with this- chimes as commotions publicity to start on the internet to sell a book!
So, everyone needs to go out and buy new books to find out what star sign they are. Now let's take time change back to when the comets hit Jupiter and we lost slightly over a second and when the earthquakes were hitting our lower hemisphere from the collider in Switzerland why Haiti - then we lost some cosmic - time . I predict if you were born before the comets hit Jupiter say what 1993 you're still the star sign you were before but if you are born after that your star sign has now changed. LOL
So, I was born the year the space race started and I am a Gemini –and I am still a Gemini out in space going where no man dare- not that I believe in that – silliness but hey Alan what is your sign. LOL the dollmaker
Overlooking a couple of things, I think.
1 - The change in the magnetic poles, the Earth's magnetic field, due to molten iron flow in the interior affects the weather as much as navigation. Noone seems to want to address the severe weather patterns lately or just put them down to current anomalys. We have to wait for that answer.
2 - Migratory animals depend upon the magnetic fields for navigation and will end up "10 degrees" off in their travels on the East coast and who knows where elsewhere.
3 - As for the pyramid of Khufu being sited on a particular star you must also consider the placement of both the Temple of Ra-Moses II at Abu Simbel, whose central corridor allows the sun to go deep into the mountain illuminating 3 of the 4 statues seated there leaving the 4th, a god of the underworld in darkness, and the plot of Stonehenge where the sun rises over the heelstone. The events at both location occur during the spring and autumnal equinox when the sun is at the equator and the Earth is "virtually" in a perpendicular position relative to the sun. Great architectural design you might think, getting something right 2x a year. Perhaps it is not so great when you read in the book of Joshua and other cultural documents and myths about the time the Sun APPEARED to stop in its movement or move backward (dependent upon the location of the myths orientation). This is a Point of View problem. The Sun didn't move but something (great volcanic expulsion, perturbation by a passing object) caused the Earth to tilt, altering it's rotation and revolution about the sun. Thirty day months and 300 day years became 365 day years and the Romans, for one, had to alter their calendars.
Think - SEPTember, OCTober, NOVember, DECember were the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th months but are now the 9th, 10,th, 11th, and 12th months with the Romans adding January (for Janus, facing both ways) and February to account for the new time spans.
To quote the title of an old Bob Will's song - TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING.
I think if something that dramatic had happened in 700 BC, there would be more record than just a change to the Roman calendar:
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/roman-calendar.html
The original Roman calendar was said to be invented by Romulus, the first king of Rome around 753 BCE. The calendar started the year in March (Martius) and consisted of a total of ten months, with six months of 30 days and four months with a length of 31 days. The winter season was not assigned to any month, thus the calendar year only lasted 304 days with 61 days unaccounted for in the winter.
Calendar of Romulus:
Adding January and February
The 304-day Roman calendar didn’t work for long because it didn’t align with the seasons. King Numa Pompilius reformed the calendar around 700 BCE by adding the months of January (Ianuarius) and February (Februarius) to the original ten months, which increased the length of the year to 354 or 355 days.
The addition of January and February meant that some of the names of the months no longer agreed with their position in the calendar (September - December). The month Quintilis was renamed July in honor of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and Sextilis was renamed August in honor of Augustus in 8 BCE.
The Intercalary Month
The calendar was still flawed after the addition of January and February and needed days and months intercalated to keep it in line with the seasons. Several attempts were made to align the calendar with the seasons but all failed. An extra month was added to the calendar in some years to make up for the lack of days in a year.
The insertion of the intercalary month was made by the pontifex maximus, the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. However this system was flawed because the Roman calendar year defined the term of office of elected officials, thus a pontifex maximus could control the length of the year depending on their political agenda.
When Julius Caesar became pontifex maximus, he reformed the calendar that eliminated the use of intercalary months which resulted in the Julian calendar and was completed during the reign of his successor Augustus.
You know, twenty five years ago (back in college) I had a girlfriend who was into all this Astrology garbage... She practically chose the clothes she wore from day to day on her "charts" which were ridiculously complicated. She pestered me for weeks to allow her to "do a chart on me" and I always refused, until one evening...
She asked for my birthday, location, and if I knew it, the time. Out came the calendars, these huge Astrology books, a calculator, and notepad. 45 minutes later, she had this list of traits that was a "perfect description" of me. She read them all off, and I just smiled. She asked why, and I told her that it was my brother's birthdate and time. She was slightly perturbed until I mollified her by giving her another date, location, and time. Another 45 minutes went by, and another "chart" came out, proclaimed by her to be "even more" descriptive of my personality. Alas, it was my father's information. So, in order to try to placate her again, I dug out my birth certificate, and let her read off the information for herself. She proclaimed that final chart to be an "absolute dead-on description" of me.
Critical thinker that I am, I asked for the other two lists, and did a line-by-line comparison of them. Turned out that they practically said the exact same things, just with different wording and phrasing. She couldn't believe it, until she read them together for herself. The whole thing just absolutely and totally infuriated her. In fact, she was so angry that she'd wasted so much of her life on that garbage that she threw her books away that night. Within a week, she'd changed her major to Astronomy, and the last I heard of her a couple of years ago, she was working at some big observatory out on the west coast... So, I feel rather glad that I've done my part for science, by debunking all that hooey that Astrology is, and helping to create another Astronomer!
Your "girlfriend" didn't know your birthday? Methinks I smell a fabrication.
WMG-21
agreed.
No, she didn't.
I suppose you two geniuses didn't stop to think that we'd only been dating for a couple of weeks... How many people do you come in contact with that you automatically know everything about them? Is "what's your sign" the first question you two children ask? Please... Even my 9 year old daughter thinks you guys are idiots.
I would love to be as smart on Sunday as you guys think you are the rest of the week...
Ouch. Resorting to personal attacks because your story smells fishy? You can tell your 9-year old that this "idiot" achieved an academic scholarship for a free ride through college and graduated with distinguished university honors. But, then again, your 9-year old daughter may not exist either. Like many deceivers, one lie begets another.