Constellations

(Zodiac)

First off-what are constellations?

Constellation is any certain group of stars that the people who named them imagined. The group of stars for configurations of objects or creatures.
A constellation is an area where a group of stars forms an outline or pattern, that usually represents an animal, mythological figure, or an inanimate object in the celestial sphere. (Wikipedia)
“According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), each “constellation” is a region of the night sky; there are 88 total, and they are both the stars in what we think of as constellations as well as the space around them." (Alex, 2021)

What is a zodiac sign?

There are 12 zodiac constellations. Each of them takes up 3 degrees of the sky. The zodiac signs all go along the ecliptic, which is the path the sun follows. It ecliptic from east to west, not north to south. Because the ecliptic goes from east to west, there are no zodiac signs in the north or south. Because the zodiac follows the path the sun follows people used to think that zodiac signs were very important.

https://www.google.com/search?q=each+zodiac+constellation&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiqloTFqo7xAhWZHt8KHdhvBcEQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=each+zodiac+constellation&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIGCAAQCBAeOgQIIxAnOgIIADoECAAQGFDUIVjoOGDWOmgAcAB4AIABS4gB0wiSAQIxN5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=Ya_CYOrhPJm9_AbY35WIDA&bih=821&biw=1440&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS919US919&safe=active#imgrc=-cEdgELcpogBFM

What is the history of zodiac signs?

Zodiac signs originated in Babylonian astronomy in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. the ecliptic divided it into 12 equal "signs" around the end of the 5th century BC. Ancient Egyptians created the idea of how constellations are made. They also came up with the idea about how the sun passes through your zodiac sign

Whatever zodiac constellation the sun passed through on your birthday during solar noon is your zodiac sign. Solar noon is when the sun is directly overhead, at its highest point in the sky. Hundreds of years ago when the sun passed through your zodiac on your birthday the sky was very different from how it is now. Because of this, people have started making new lists of zodiac signs, including a new sign called Ophiuchus. This sign is from November 29 to December 17.

When zodiac signs were first determined thousands of years ago, the sun was in Gemini on my birthday (June 6), but in the year 2008 when I was born, at solar noon the sun was over Taurus, because Earth's position has shifted. I used the program Stellarium where you can see the sky at different points in time to test this theory, you can see my results below.

This is my birthday in the year 0

these images were taken in Stellarium

This is my birthday in 2008, the year I was born

How does the culture around zodiac signs compare to what we know through science?

your zodiac sign is whatever zodiac constellation the sun was on during solar noon of your birthday when zodiac signs were first assigned many years ago. The sun passes through your zodiac constellation for about a month, and whichever constellation it is in determines your signs

Up until even just hundreds of years ago, astronomy and astrology were connected. Astronomy is the science of stars and space and astrology is the idea that the stars and heavens influence your life, but they don't line up anymore

How have zodiac signs changed over time?

NASA said that the sky is completely different from how it was when zodiac signs were first invented. They said, "The sky has shifted because Earth's axis (North Pole) doesn't point in quite the same direction."

https://www.stylist.co.uk/astrology/nasa-horoscope-star-sign-zodiac-ophiuchus-personality-astrology-astronomy/248217#:~:text=NASA%20%E2%80%93%20as%20in%2C%20yes%2C,in%20quite%20the%20same%20direction.

Zodiac signs personalities/traits!

Each zodiac sign has a different personality and many different traits.

Just for fun here are some examples of zodiac signs personalities/traits!

Aries- passionate and motivated

Taurus-intelligent, hard working, dedicated, stubborn

Gemini-playfull, curious, social butterflies, has many personalities

Cancer- loyal, protective.

Leo- warm, passionate, and dynamic.

Virgo- loyal, practical, and perfectionist at heart

Libra-beautiful and well-balanced

Scorpio-deep, emotional and can be very serious

Sagittarius-optimistic, hilarious,, honest and intellectual

Capricorn-ambitious, organized, practical, goal-oriented

Aquarius-rebel at heart

Pisces- creative, empathetic, and generous

And ofcourse there are so many more traits, including bad ones.

Did your traits change along with your sign?

A lot of you have probably looked at what the traits of your sign are, and maybe you match them, maybe you don't. Some people think that traits have changed and some do not. I couldn’t find a good answer to this question, but I am originally a gemini, and I have a lot of gemini traits.

Ophiuchus

Before the end of this presentation I wanted to briefly talk about the new sign, ophiuchus.

The name ophiuchus comes from a greek word, ophiuchus,meaning “serpent-bearer”. This zodiac is usually represented by a man holding a snake.

So what are the traits of an ophiuchus? Some traits are, “extremely curious, open to change, passionate and very jealous too, explosive temper, good humor, secretive, egotistical, and thirst for knowledge.” -(findyourfate 2021)

Thanks!

thank you alex for all the help with this project,

thanks to frances for encouraging me and totally not distracting me,

And thanks to my soccer friends who probably won’t see this but who tried to help me for a while to try to get back my blog after it got deleted even though I never got it back!

Fun facts!

during your signs month, the sun Is blocking your sign
when I looked up zodiac signs on Wikipedia, the first thing I saw was "not to be confused with constellations."

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