In 2016, the world was thrown into a frenzy when NASA decided to casually change the astrological signs for the first time in over 2,000 years.
Thanks to the introduction of a new zodiac sign called Ophiuchus, the whole system was changed and Librans became Virgos, while Leos were considered Cancers. And, poor Scorpios now fell under Ophiuchus. It was a mess.
Fast forward four years later and this rumour has started circulating again. But thankfully, it’s not true. The team at NASA debunked this myth back in 2016, reminding the public that they don’t, in fact, have anything to do with horoscopes.
“NASA studies astronomy not astrology,” NASA spokesperson Dwayne Brown told Gizmodo in 2016.
The confusion around NASA’s involvement in the updating of astrological signs seems to have stemmed from The Space Place — an educational website for kids created by NASA.
This website features an explanation about how the zodiac signs were designed by the Babylonians 3,000 years ago and were linked to the consultations they saw above, Gizmodo reports.
NASA noted on The Space Place that in the years since the position of these constellations have shifted thanks to a tiny wobble in the Earth’s axis, so they’re no longer in the same positions that the Babylonians first saw them.
“We didn’t change any Zodiac signs, we just did the maths,” Brown told Gizmodo. “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 maths that did come from observations of the night sky.”
Looking at The Space Place webpage, it’s clear that NASA is not involved in astrology and is keen to make this fact known. There is even a cartoon man who greets you on the website saying “Astrology is NOT science”.
“Astrology is something else. It’s not science. No one has shown that astrology can be used to predict the future or describe what people are like based only on their birth date,” The Space Place reads.
So, it’s fair to say that NASA doesn’t care about what zodiac sign you are and the team are certainly not trying to change it.
Good news!