Constellations And The Calendar

Constellations and the Calendar

Did you recently hear that NASA changed the zodiac signs? Nope, we definitely didn’t…

…Here at NASA, we study astronomy, not astrology. We didn’t change any zodiac signs, we just did the math. Here are the details:

First Things First: Astrology is not Astronomy…

Astronomy is the scientific study of everything in outer space. Astronomers and other scientists know that stars many light-years away have no effect on the ordinary activities of humans on Earth.

Astrology, meanwhile, is something else. It’s the belief that the positions of stars and planets can influence human events. It’s not considered a science.

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Some curious symbols ring the outside of the Star Finder. These symbols stand for some of the constellations in the zodiac. What is the zodiac and what is special about these constellations?

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Imagine a straight line drawn from Earth though the sun and out into space way beyond our solar system where the stars are. Then, picture Earth following its orbit around the sun. This imaginary line would rotate, pointing to different stars throughout one complete trip around the sun – or, one year. All the stars that lie close to the imaginary flat disk swept out by this imaginary line are said to be in the zodiac.

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The constellations in the zodiac are simply the constellations that this imaginary straight line points to in its year-long journey.

What are Constellations?

A constellation is group of stars like a dot-to-dot puzzle. If you join the dots—stars, that is—and use lots of imagination, the picture would look like an object, animal, or person. For example, Orion is a group of stars that the Greeks thought looked like a giant hunter with a sword attached to his belt. Other than making a pattern in Earth’s sky, these stars may not be related at all.

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Even the closest star is almost unimaginably far away. Because they are so far away, the shapes and positions of the constellations in Earth’s sky change very, very slowly. During one human lifetime, they change hardly at all.

A Long History of Looking to the Stars

The Babylonians lived over 3,000 years ago. 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.” So, as Earth orbits the sun, the sun would appear to pass through each of the 12 parts of the zodiac. Since the Babylonians already had a 12-month calendar (based on the phases of the moon), each month got a slice of the zodiac all to itself.

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But even according to the Babylonians’ own ancient stories, there were 13 constellations in the zodiac. So they 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 crossed over into the next one.

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When the Babylonians first invented the 12 signs of zodiac, a birthday between about July 23 and August 22 meant being born under the constellation Leo. Now, 3,000 years later, the sky has shifted because Earth’s axis (North Pole) doesn’t point in quite the same direction.

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The constellations are different sizes and shapes, so the sun spends different lengths of time lined up with each one. The line from Earth through the sun points to Virgo for 45 days, but it points to Scorpius for only 7 days.  To make a tidy match with their 12-month calendar, the Babylonians ignored the fact that the sun actually moves through 13 constellations, not 12. Then they assigned each of those 12 constellations equal amounts of time.

So, we didn’t change any zodiac signs…we just did the math.

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I will probably make another PSA about the importance of proper tagging later.

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> The college I attended was small and very LGBT friendly. One day someone came to visit and used the word “gay” as a pejorative, as was common in the early 2000s. A current student looked at the visitor and flatly said, “we don’t do that here.” The guest started getting defensive and explaining that they weren’t homophobic and didn’t mean anything by it. The student replied, “I’m sure that’s true, but all you need to know is we don’t do that here.” The interaction ended at that point, and everyone moved on to different topics. “We don’t do that here” was a polite but firm way to educate the newcomer about our culture. […]

> It turns out talking about diversity, inclusion, and even just basic civil behavior can be controversial in technical spaces. I don’t think it should be, but I don’t get to make the rules. When I’m able I’d much rather spend the time to educate someone about diversity and inclusion issues and see if I can change how they see the world a bit. But I don’t always have the time and energy to do that. And sometimes, even if I did have the time, the person involved doesn’t want to be educated.

> This is when I pull out “we don’t do that here.” It is a conversation ender. If you are the newcomer and someone who has been around a long time says “we don’t do that here”, it is hard to argue. This sentence doesn’t push my morality on anyone. If they want to do whatever it is elsewhere, I’m not telling them not to. I’m just cluing them into the local culture and values. If I deliver this sentence well it carries no more emotional weight than saying, “in Japan, people drive on the left.” “We don’t do that here” should be a statement of fact and nothing more. It clearly and concisely sets a boundary, and also makes it easy to disengage with any possible rebuttals.

> Me: “You are standing in that person’s personal space. We don’t do that here.” > Them: “But I was trying to be nice.” > Me: “Awesome, but we don’t stand so close to people here.”

> Them: Tells an off-color joke. > Me: “We don’t do that here.” > Them: “But I was trying to be funny.” > Me (shrugging): “That isn’t relevant. We don’t do that here.”

Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments
Digimon Adventure Tri. ~ Bokura No Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments

Digimon Adventure tri. ~ Bokura no Mirai (J.P.N Version) + Koushiro{u} Izumi & Meiko + Meicoomon ~ Moments of Support / Acknowledgement {of the crisis, each others’ Partners, and each other} + Koushiro’s Attempts To {Help} Stop the Crisis (via using Koushiro’s laptop or otherwise commenting + taking action on it)

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Actually horrified when under posts made by people with autism or other neurodivergent people who are proud of it and trying to spread awareness about its symptoms, people comment shit like “you’re obviously faking it because I have autism and I’m embarrassed about it, no one would actually expose themselves like this” like bro not everyone beats themselves over the head with self hatred??? And it’s not your business to spread that hatred to others???


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“Again the Jew has the right to say to the Christian, you have no right to laugh over the absurdities and ghost stories of the Talmud and its expounders of the past, when you believe in a personal Satan who tempted and tried the Son of God, absurdity can hardly go beyond this; when you believe the ghost stories and exorcisms of the New Testament, which are certainly glaring enough to defy reason and override all intelligence. The greatest miracles of the Talmud are mere child’s play in comparison to the immaculate conception, the resurrection of the crucified one from death and his post-mortem feats on earth, in Hades and then in Heaven.”

— Rabbi Isaac M Wise (via yidquotes)


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arerepostsofizzyizumiworkdeleted - Are reposts/theft of user izzyizumis work+gifs deleted yet???
Are reposts/theft of user izzyizumis work+gifs deleted yet???

Wall of Shame for gif+fanworks thieves and their supporters who steal my stuff and can't even give me a very simple apology. I'm not asking for much y'all! When it's not dealing with reposters, a general blog about gifs and other relevant PSAs. Have fun reading them all, hopefully you'll learn something significant about how to interact with strangers you don't know online. Genuinely, I hope they help, but I won't entertain reposters, trolls, or any of their supporters. By the way, if you've reposted my stuff or tried to argue with me in favor of stealing and reposting other's hard work without giving proper credit and asking for Permissions, delete it!!! Any reblog here noting fanworks thieves or supporters stays up until relevant posts or conversations are fully, one hundred percent deleted. It's super easy!!! "ANYONE CAN DO IT!!!"

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