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Zodiacal insights
In the June 2009 issue of Astronomy magazine, Geoff Chester, U.S. Naval Observatory, answers the question, "The constellation Ophiuchus lies partly on the ecliptic, so why isn't it considered one of the zodiacal signs?"
Answer (in part): In the second millenium B.C., the Babylonians divided the sky into 12 equal segments along the ecliptic, which traces the apparent annual path of the Sun through the stars as seen from Earth. They named each 30 degree wide segment after a nearby star pattern. This established the 12 signs of the zodiac, which comes from the Greek 'zodiakos', meaning "circle of animals"
In the June 2009 issue of Astronomy magazine, Geoff Chester, U.S. Naval Observatory, answers the question, "The constellation Ophiuchus lies partly on the ecliptic, so why isn't it considered one of the zodiacal signs?"
Answer (in part): In the second millenium B.C., the Babylonians divided the sky into 12 equal segments along the ecliptic, which traces the apparent annual path of the Sun through the stars as seen from Earth. They named each 30 degree wide segment after a nearby star pattern. This established the 12 signs of the zodiac, which comes from the Greek 'zodiakos', meaning "circle of animals"