And hype is exactly what it became when the gullible side of social media reared its ugly head in response to unusual claims that the space boffins at NASA had suddenly issued a new zodiac chart by adding a 13th sign.
Btw thanks to @NASA your Zodiac is probably different now. pic.twitter.com/gkQCA6PzDH
— Michaela (@mich_16_) September 17, 2016
The consequences of the claims being true would bring about a number of key questions for all to panic about.
Firstly, if there was a new 13th zodiac sign, then what happens to the 12 others that exist?
Since @NASA want to add zodiac signs maybe ya can add a day between Saturday and Sunday!!
— BIRTHDAY GIRL😛 (@x_Jasmineeeeee) September 17, 2016
I dont really believe in zodiac sign stuff but oh my god i am not a Capricorn, @NASA, it's just not happening.
— margaux (@angeliquefaithx) September 17, 2016
Surely the dates would all need to change and those who were previously deemed as a Scorpio or Leo would suddenly find themselves as actually being a Taurus or Gemini.
@NASA please don't change the zodiac signs, bein a Gemini is unreal X
— dev (@laurendevenny_) July 13, 2016
Stop the press… that could be akin to discovering your parents weren't your parents, or that everything we are taught to believe is in fact all a lie and we really are living inside some kind of complex real-life augmented reality game such as Pokemon Go! Or not!
Another key question that arises from hearing about a possible change to the zodiac calendar is why are astronomy agency NASA now delving into the world of horoscopes? To which the obvious answer, "they surely never would" should have been the sensible response made on social media.
FYI, NASA does NOT change star signs or deal with astrology. We do ASTRONOMY, people
— Leah Cheshier (@LeahAdAstra) September 16, 2016
The "comedy of errors" source for all the confusion seems to have stemmed from misinterpretations of references found on an educational page for kids online called Nasa Space Place — on the website, NASA offers an explanation about the history of astronomy and how the zodiac chart was made over 3,000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians.
In the thousands of years since the creation of horoscopes being linked to the constellations in the sky, what NASA's website for kids points out is that the position of those constellations could have moved slightly over time due to shifts in the Earth's axis. The scientific theory is therefore that those constellations may no longer be seen in the same spots now as they once may have been when the Babylonians were studying them. And that is all…
Me:*gets tattoo of my zodiac sign *
— ☹ (@Cyberface_) June 27, 2016
NASA: " the signs are wrong and we're changing them,here's the correct ones"
Me: pic.twitter.com/H7I7eIgAvH
Following the rumors on social media, the website now also explains the theory of the US-based space agency that "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 is something else. It's not science," it states.
So there you have it! NASA is not changing your horoscope and we are not living in some kind of complex, virtual-reality style computer software that controls everything we do and think.
