Is NASA changing the zodiac?

Published on: Sep 23, 2016

Whether you believe in Astrology or not, it's an institution that has been around for thousands of years. The signs of the zodiac have always been the same and those signs have always informed the followers of Astrology.

Changing them would be catastrophic for the current systems in place, but as Cosmopolitan would have you believe, NASA has decided to update them. Is this true? The answer may surprise you.

Are The Zodiac Signs Changing?

In terms of accuracy, the zodiac signs are not remotely accurate from a scientific point of view. The sky has changed drastically in the thousands of years since the zodiac was first created.

Had NASA actually made these changes, then 86% of people would have a different sign. If we take into account the controversial 13th sign and update the tracking based on the new tilt of Earth's axis in today's timeline, this is what we would have:

Capricorn: Jan 20 - Feb 16

Aquarius: Feb 16 – March 11

Pisces: March 11 – April 18

Aries: April 18 – May 13

Taurus: May 13 – June 21

Gemini: June 21 – July 20

Cancer: July 20 – Aug 10

Leo: Aug 10 – Sept 16

Virgo: Sept 16 – Oct 30

Libra: Oct 30 – Nov 23

Scorpio: Nov 23 – Nov 29

Ophiuchus: Nov 29 – Dec 17

Sagittarius: Dec 17 – Jan 20

The truth, my friends, is that NASA did not change the signs of the zodiac, so Astrology itself can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

What Really Happened Then?

The source of this misconception came from the NASA Space Place page, which is designed for kids. It was updated in January of this year.

The purpose of this page was to talk about how the signs of the zodiac were first created by the Babylonians over 3,000 years ago.

Scientifically speaking, the zodiac should have had thirteen signs, but they left one out to fit better with the months of the year. In addition, the page talks about how the sky has changed in the last 3,000 years.

The Cosmopolitan article came from an example on the NASA page where they explained that the signs don't fit into the sky we have today. For example, a Leo should really be a Cancer.

NASA wasn't happy about being roped into all of this either. Bob Jacobs from NASA cleared it up on Twitter:

Here's an idea @c_warwick & @CosmopolitanUK. Contact us before you write about crazy. @NASA isn't changing Zodiac signs. We're easy to find.
— Bob Jacobs (@bnjacobs) September 16, 2016