If you're an astrology fan, these last few days have probably felt a little topsy-turvy. One minute you're living life as a Leo, the next — bam! NASA shifts the astrological dates and you're now a Virgo. Or so you thought.
The original uproar happened last week, when a news outlet found a blog post that was published by NASA back in January. In the post, NASA stated that when Babylonians first created the zodiac 3,000 years ago, they recognised 13 constellations (some cultures recognised as many as 23). Thanks to their 12-month calendar, the Babylonians chose to narrow it down to 12 and keep things neat and tidy.
Related: Your Zodiac Sign May Have Changed — But Don't Panic
NASA added that since then, thanks to a wobble in the Earth's axis, the position of constellations have changed. That means the Babylonian astrological calendar is even less accurate than we thought.
The main point of the NASA article was that astrology is not a science. But that's not what people took away from it. Instead, everyone freaked out and started to wonder if their signs had been switched — or were simply wrong all along.
Well, you can relax. NASA just clarified its stance on the astrological signs and made it clear that nothing has changed. You're still the same sign you've always been.
Related: Your Horoscope This Week
“We didn’t change any Zodiac signs, we just did the math,” NASA spokesperson Dwayne Brown clarified to Gizmodo in an email. “The Space Place article was about how astrology is not astronomy, how it was a relic of ancient history, and pointed out the science and math that did come from observations of the night sky.”
The article that freaked everyone out was from The Space Place, an NASA educational site where kids can learn about astronomy with the help of cartoons. That specific article teaches kids that the zodiac signs are based on faulty science.
In any case, NASA is not really interested in your horoscope or how Mercury in retrograde affects your life. As Brown told Gizmodo, “NASA studies astronomy, not astrology."
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