• Question: are horoscope real and reliable and if so do the stars and planets really effect them? :)

    Asked by annawillzwilliams to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 16 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by izzypeter.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      I’m currently writing a presentation all about this!

      There’s a lot of evidence to show that horoscopes are completely made up. A lot of it is easy to work out (people born at the same time being totally different, people whose birthdays might have changed due to calendar changes) but people still believe them!

    • Photo: Catherine Rix

      Catherine Rix answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      I don’t believe in horoscopes or astrology. They can be quite fun, but there is no scientific basis for them. It must be quite fun to write them. Here is your horoscope for today – Today you will meet a mysterious stranger.

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 17 Mar 2012:

      No they are not real in any way. Planets could in no way affect your real life.

      And because of something caused the “precession of the equinoxes” which very slowly (over 26,000 years) changes the time of year the Sun is in front of different constellations in the sky (the constellations it passes through are called “the zodiac”) your “star sign” isn’t even the constellation the Sun was in when you were born any more – not that it matter.

      Plus we redefined constellation boundries slight – so there are technically 13 constellations along the zodiac now – would anyone like to be an Ophiucous?

      Also why would scientific decisions about if pluto is a planet or not affect what happens to you on Earth.

      I could go on, but the basic point is I think it’s a load of rubbish and has nothing to do with astronomy at all.

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      Nope, and nope!

      Lots of ancient civilisations liked to see patterns in all sorts of things, like the stars, and they started thinking that the positions of the stars and planets at different times of the year have an effect on people’s moods and personalities, but they are all so far away that nothing about them can affect us in any way.

      Probably the best way to explain horoscopes seeming to come true is the fact that people read them and believe them, and then will go out of their way to make them true. So if you’re horoscope says ‘You will meet a handsome stranger today’, you will try to meet them yourself, when normally you would just ignore all the strangers!

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      Nope, because, why would the stars or planets care about me? They are just lumps of stuff that obey the laws of physics, and so am I.

      There is no physical reason either why they can affect us either: realistically, only the moon and sun affect our lives on Earth (although Jupiter does help by ‘shielding’ us from many asteroids that might otherwise have collided with the Earth, but that is simply because it is so big and so has a strong gravitational field). The sun by making us go around it and keeping us warm, the moon by lighting up the night sky (a bit) and causing the tides.

Comments