New Zodiac Ophiuchus: Has your sign changed?

Ophiuchus is a rarely used astrological sign that is not included in most versions of the Zodiac calendars. It is also known as 'Serpentarius' with its dates falling between November 29 and December 17.

The ancient Babylonians based zodiac signs on the constellation the Sun was 'in' on the day a person is born.

Ophiuchus used to be counted between Scorpio and Sagittarius. But it was discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year.

If this is true, then the popular understanding of the zodiac is off by about a month. People vented on the internet about losing the signs with which they have identified themselves for years.

Which basically means that the signs people were born under are different now because the Earth's wobble on its axis created a one-month bump in the alignment of stars.

According to a CNN blog, the tropical zodiac - which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to - differs from the sidereal zodiac - which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers.

The Internet was buzzing with questions over how the new sign which was not in the old Zodiac system used by the Babylonian astrology will change their zodiacs.

Taken from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer', the sign is portrayed by a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations proposed by Ptolemy in the second century. It was earlier known as Serpentarius, a Latin word for serpent-bearer.

The new sign will cover those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17 while Sagittarius will move into the 13 th position covering from Dec. 17 to Jan. 20.

What are Ophiuchus character traits?

Those born in Ophiuchus are said to be honest, intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and jealous.

Las Campanas Observatory

Las Campanas Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science It was established in 1969 and remains the primary observing site of that institution. The headquarters is located in La Serena, Chile 29.91041°S 71.24076°W and the observatory is in the southern Atacama desert and about 100 km to the northeast of the city. The observatory is at an altitude of 2400 meters (7900 feet).


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http://www.lco.cl/

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

The Cerro Tololo Astronomical Observatory is located about 500km north of Santiago, Chile, about 52km ESE (80km by road) of La Serena, at an altitude of 2200 meters. It lies on a 34,491Ha (85,227 ac.) site known as "Estancia El Tortoral" which was purchased by AURA on the open market in 1967 for use as an astronomical observatory.


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http://www.ctio.noao.edu/

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

ESO is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy. It carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities for astronomy to enable important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research.


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http://www.eso.org/public/

How did the constellations get their names?

The present names of the constellations are given, in most countries, in Latin. The names have come to us from classic Greek civilization, which, in turn, took them from earlier sources. Some names have been given to various groups of stars by modern astronomers.
Every ancient civilization had its own names for various groups of stars. The Babylonian constellations were, for most part, much larger than the present constellations. The Babylonians, Egyptians, Arabs and Greeks have given names of the constellations. In many cases, a group of constellations are associated in Greek mythology. For example, the Perseus-Andromeda group, and it is difficult to tell whether the myth or the constellation came first. In many cases constellations had the same name in the languages of several ancient cultures. The Greeks and the American Indians all called the stars Ursa Major, "The Bear". The first catalogue of the constellations was Ptolemy's catalogue. Ptolemy listed 48 constellations. Ptolemy's constellations did not cover all the sky. There were gaps between groups of stars. Such spaces Ptolemy left blank. Ptolemy listed 108 stars.
Astronomers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries used some of Ptolemy's "unformed" stars as a basis for new constellations to fill in the vacant areas.
The 88 modern constellations contain 15 men and women, one head of hair, 9 birds, one insect, 22 land animals, 10 water living things, one serpent and 30 inanimate objects.

How to Identify the Zodiac Constellation Pisces

Instructions

1. • 1
     Look for Pisces in late September and early October. Pisces is a fall constellation and is best viewed in early autumn. It will rise in the east and can be seen by 10 p.m. However, due to the lack of prominent stars, Pisces shows up much better on moonless nights.
   • 2
     As with many autumn constellations, use the Great Square of Pegasus as a point of reference to locate Pisces. The Great Square looks just the way it sounds, and cannot be missed. It comes up over the horizon as the sun sets and the Earth's rotation brings it into view. Always picture the square as a baseball diamond, with second base rising first, followed by the rest of the constellation. Pegasus is a winged horse in mythology and the square is the main part of the horse's body.
   • 3
     Look for Pisces in what would be the first base box seats. If the Great Square is a baseball diamond, then the most recognizable part of Pisces is in back of the first base line. This would be what is called the "Circlet," a group of faint stars that form a circle. Pisces represents two fish held together by a cord on their tails. The Circlet is one of those fish.
   • 4
     Try to find the other fish of the Pisces duo on the opposite side of the Great Square. There is no circle of stars to form this fish; if anything, it would be an eel, because it is mostly a straight line of unremarkable and dim stars. However, if you have a small telescope, you can see the spiral galaxy known as M74, about halfway up the line of stars and to their left.
   • 5
     See if you can make out a "V." Both of these heavenly fish are connected at their tails. Pisces has a "V" shape, with the Circlet at the top of the upper right portion of the "V." The lack of bright stars in Pisces makes it, along with Aquarius and Aries, the hardest Zodiac constellation to locate in the sky. Pisces lies between these two in the Zodiac, but trying to find it based on that information is not of much help to the novice stargazer.

Pisces

Pisces is a faint Zodiac constellation that is astrologically associated with the month of March. People born between February 19 and March 20 are considered to be born under the sign of Pisces, since the sun seems to be in that constellation as it travels along the ecliptic, an imaginary line it appears to follow during the year.