Ophiucus causes confusion

Astrology has been always commonly associated with astronomy, but they are actually not related with each other. The latter is a field of science but the former is not.

According to dictionary;

Astrology is the study of planets and human behavior: the study of the positions of the Moon, other planets and stars in the belief that their motions or movements affect human beings.

Astronomy is the scientific study of universe, especially of the motions, positions, sizes, composition, and behavior of heavenly bodies. These bodies are studied and interpreted from the radiation they emit and from data gathered by interplanetary probes.

Recently, the addition of the 13^th zodiac sign causes discomfort to astrology believers. Let’s try to look into the science aspect of the issue.

There are actually 88 constellations (star patterns or group of stars in a definite area of the sky) identified officially, most of which were named in the ancient times. Most of these had been recorded by Babylonian astronomers before 2000 BC. In 150 AD, Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, described 48 star patterns, including the famous ones like Ursa Major (the Great Bear).

To an observer on Earth, the stars appear to be attached to the inside of a vast hollow globe which spins around the Earth from East to West once a day. Although this is not true, (since the Earth, and not the sky, is the one spinning) it is often useful for astronomers to pretend that this globe in the sky really does exist. This is called as the “celestial sphere” which is of great help to astronomers to plot the position of stars in the sky. During a year, the sun appears to take a particular path through this celestial sphere. This path marks the center of the band of sky known as the Zodiac. There are 12 divisions of the zodiac, each of one represented by a constellation. The Sun seems to stay for about a month in each constellation.

The addition of the 13^th zodiac was proposed as early as 1930. Based on the 1930 IAU constellation boundaries, suggestions that "there are really 13 astrological signs" because "the Sun is in the sign of Ophiuchus" between November 29 and December 17 have been published since at least the 1970s. In 1970, Stephen Schmidt in his Astrology 14 advocated a 14-sign zodiac, introducing Ophiuchus (December 6 to December 31) and Cetus (May 12 to June 6) as new signs. The idea was taken up by Walter Berg in his The 13 Signs of the Zodiac (1995), a suggestion that achieved some popularity in Japan (where Ophiuchus is known as snake messenger). 

The following are the "real" dates of astrological signs according to astronomers;

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

On my personal perspective, we have nothing to worry about this thing. I believe that most of us, even astrologers themselves believe that human behaviour or fate is not dependent to the motions of these celestial bodies. We are the one making our own course; it is a God-given gift to all of us to have freewill. So don’t over react… it doesn’t changes anything.

Sources:

Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Muirden, J (1993). Visual Factfinder Stars and Planets.

LiveScience.com

Wikipedia.com
starryskies.com (Image Source)

New Philippine Peso Bills: Currency of Hope and Change

 

            I like the new design of our Peso Bills even though some errors have been the subject of ridicule of some critics in social networking sites and tri-media in its first emergence. Critics will always be critics. I've summarized some of these "errors" because of my curiosity... 

1. Exclusion of Batanes from the Philippine map on the reverse of all denominations

2. The mislocation of the Puerto Pricesa Subterranean Underground River on the reverse of 500-peso bill

3. The mislocation of Tubbataha Reef on the 1000-peso bill

4. The incorrect coloring in the beak & feathers of the blue-naped parrot on the reverse of 500-peso bill

5. The scientific names of the featured animals on the reverse sides of all denominations were incorrectly written

            Scientific names are written in binomial nomenclature where the first letter of the first word (which is the genus) should be capitalized and the second word (which is the species name) should be written all in lower-case letters. Scientific names are conventionally written in italicized form. In the case of how the scientific names were written on the reverse of all denominations, both the first letters of the genus and species name were capitalized and not written in italicized form.

Wrong Scientific Name:

Genus Species

Correct Scientific Name:

Genus species

            Honestly, with these errors I've learned the locations of some of some of our tourist spots, the real color of a parrot and the correct way of writing scientific names. I’m not saying that we ignore these errors. Well, for me, there's nothing too much to worry about with these errors. Maybe these can be rectified in the near future. (I presumed that it would cost a lot of money to change it right now.) What is important is that we are aware of these errors.   We have to learn our lessons to avoid it next time. After all, the main objectives of the BSP when they announced their plan to change the design of our peso-bills (that was in 2009) is the enhanced security features and improved durability of the bills.

Sources:

philmoney.blogspot.com

wikipedia.com