Enter the 13th Constellation - A New Zodiac

To those who are crazy about zodiac signs, perhaps the revelation of a new zodiac sign last Sunday may disturb their mood and spark their anger, disbelief, shock and confuse.

The new zodiac sign, the 13th constellation named Ophiuchus (Ooh-fee-yew-kus) -- Greek for "serpent-bearer" spans from Nov 30 to Dec 17, and it alters the dates of other zodiac signs in the 12-month year.

According to Parke Kunkle, a Minneapolis astronomy instructor, the moon's gravitational pull has made the Earth "wobble" around its axis which shifts the stars' alignment by about a month.

However for astronomers, this is not new.

Associate Prof Dr Chong Hon Yew a lecturer in the Universiti Sains Malaysia Astronomy and Atmospheric Science Research Unit said, "Ophiuchus is not a new constellation. It has been there for thousands of years. The sun actually passes through 13 constellations, not just 12 in the traditional zodiac list.

"It is just that the ancients who discovered the constellations left out one constellation to fit the months in the calendar."

Chong said the "wobble" of the axis was known as "the precession of equinoxes".

"The 12 zodiac signs were created thousands of years ago. People born under the Ophiuchus sign were put under Scorpio or Sagittarius. Since then, there have shifts on the Earth's axis causing some days of Ophiuchus' neighbouring months to be squeezed out."

With the inclusion of Ophiuchus, the number of days under the Scorpio sign will be reduced to six from Nov 24 to 29.

So, what is your new zodiac sign now? Mine, from the bull Taurus to the ram Aries. However I do not bother much about this as I am not a believer to this sort of signs, inclusive the Chinese Zodiac of Animals.

Read more here the article by Lydia Gomez.