‘New horoscope’ discovered by NASA could mean a change in star sign for many

NASA has sent horoscope followers into a state of frenzy after a blog post suggesting that there could be 13 signs of the zodiac instead of the traditional 12.

The mystery sign, which is named Ophiuchus, is for those born between November 29 and December 17.

A blog written by the space agency says it represents the 13th part of the zodiac according to ancient stories from the Babylonians.

They claim that they decided to leave it out as it did not fit perfectly with the earth’s rotation, reports the Mirror.

If Ophiuchus was used as a star sign right now, it would mean that many horoscopes could be aligned with the wrong dates of the year.

For example Pisces is February 19 to March 20 but could potentially actually be March 11 to April 18.

NASA published the findings in a blog post in January 2016 based on ancient claims from the Babylonians who looked into the zodiac in a bid to try to understand the planet.

However news of Ophiuchus has since re-emerged and got a lot of people talking.

“The Babylonians lived over 3,000 years ago,” the blog post reads.

“They divided the zodiac into 12 equal parts – like cutting a pizza into 12 equal slices. They picked 12 constellations in the zodiac, one for each of the 12 ‘slices.’

“But even according to the Babylonians’ own ancient stories, there were 13 constellations in the zodiac. (Other cultures and traditions have recognized as many as 24 constellations in the zodiac).

“So the Babylonians picked one, Ophiuchus, to leave out.

“Even then, some of the chosen 12 didn’t fit neatly into their assigned slice of the pie and slopped over into the next one.”

However, the matter is a complicated one.

As the earth’s axis wobbles and constellations vary in size, it’s impossible for the sun to spend the same amount of time in each star sign.

In short, estimations aren’t perfect and there is always some room for error.

When the findings were published, there was uproar on social media sites, with some astrology fans claiming their “lives had been ruined” as a result of the supposed potential changes.

Phil Plait, writing for New Scientist, poured cold water on the claims by exposing exactly how the star sign system worked, and what had been left out by experts.

He said: “The thing is, there are more than 12 constellations the Sun can pass through. Some are smaller, or have fainter stars, so they get ignored.

“The biggest is Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer, which is a huge constellation taking up quite a bit of celestial real estate, and in fact the sun spends more time in Ophiuchus than Scorpius.

“Scorpius has brighter stars and an obvious scorpion-like shape, so it gets better press.”

He explained at the time in 2016, that NASA didn’t add Ophiuchus or change the zodiac system, but it had been “ignored by astrologers”, who he said “should take the blame for all this, not actual scientists”.

Mr Plait added: “Worse, there aren’t really 13 zodiacal constellations. By some counts, there are as many as 21.

“Not only that, but Earth wobbles like a top, very slowly, and over centuries that changes the dates the Sun is in a given constellation. If you were born in late March in ancient Greece, you would have been an Aries. Today, you’d be a Pisces.

“Given that astrology is based on all this, shouldn’t astrologers at least get their basic facts straight before trying to influence your life?”

Astrologer Susan Miller told Elle: “The ancients discussed whether or not to include a 13th sign — they debated, they did empirical studies, and in the end, they felt it was not significant.

“Remember, they invented astrology and we have to go with what they gave us.”

13 star signs and their dates if Ophiuchus was an official horoscope

Capricorn  – was December 22 to January 20 but is now believed to be January 20 to February 16

Aquarius  – was January 21 to February 18 but is now believed to be February 16 to March 11

Pisces  – was February 19 to March 20 but is now believed to be March 11 to April 18

Aries  – was March 21 to April 20 but is now believed to be April 18 to May 13

Taurus  – was April 21 to May 21 but is now believed to be May 13 to June 21

Gemini  – was May 22 to June 21 but is now believed to be June 21 to July 20

Cancer  – was June 22 to July 22 but is now believed to be July 20 to August 10

Leo  – was July 23 to August 23 but is now believed to be August 10 to September 16

Virgo  – was August 24 to September 22 but is now believed to be September 16 to October 30

Libra  – was September 23 to October 23 but is now believed to be October 30 to November 23

Scorpio  – was October 24 to November 22 but is now believed to be November 23 to November 29

Ophiuchus  – believed to be November 29 to December 17

Sagittarius  – was November 23 to December 21 but is now believed to be December 17 to January 20