There has been a disturbance in the astrological forces. 
 
 What you think you know about the zodiac may be a lie. The sign you think you were born under is different, to hear astrology wonks tell it. The dates for the western zodiac calendar have compressed and shifted later by a few weeks: If you were a Virgo born before mid-September, so the story goes, you are a Leo (now Aug. 10 to Sept. 16). Congratulations! 
 
 There is a thirteenth sign, too — Ophiuchus. People born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17 are Ophiuchuses. (Your new talents include architecture and snake-bearing.) With all of the chaos in the heavens, one might think that a retrograde Mercury is to blame. 
 
 But there is no rogue planet at fault. Just an informative blog post aimed at children. 
 
 In January, NASA wrote a brief history of how the western zodiac came to be. The zodiac is grounded in history more than science. In short, the Babylonians created the zodiac as we know it about 3,000 years ago. Imagine a laser beam that shoots from Earth, through the noon sun and into constellations of stars beyond. (These constellations are patterns that the Babylonians decided looked like animals or people.) The dates of the zodiac calendar follow this laser line as it sweeps from constellation to neighboring constellation, a bit like the hand of a clock. 
 
 The calendar did not translate to the stars perfectly. The ancient astrologers only had 12 months to work with, but the sun passed through 13 large Babylonian constellations. So they deleted one. Although the city of Babylon collapsed under the weight of being conquered repeatedly, this lean, Ophiuchus-less zodiac endured. 
 
 Its imperfections did, too. The ancient Babylonians knew enough to track the sun’s path through the sky, but they were unaware that their reference point on Earth was unstable. Unlike a globe, the planet does not spin perfectly about its axis — there is no stake through molten core pinning the north pole in place. 
 
 [Chinese New Year: The year of the ram, or sheep, or goat, or something like that] 
 
 In fact, Earth’s north pole has progressed eastward since 2000, at a rate of about 7 inches a year. By geologic standards it is a dramatic lean. Recent scientific studies indicate that climate change is rearranging the planet’s watery bulk, pulling Earth to the side. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently implicated droughts in Eurasia, in India and around the Caspian Sea. But much of the change is due to lost ice. “Greenland is the lion’s share of the mass loss,” University of Texas at Austin researcher John Ries told Scientific American in April. “That’s what’s causing the pole to change its nature.” 
 
 And because Babylonian astrology depends on the location of Earth, sun and star constellations, NASA pointed out the clock hand of the zodiac has been wound back. “Now Mimi’s August 4 birthday would mean she was born ‘under the sign’ of Cancer (one constellation ‘earlier’), not Leo,” NASA wrote in January. 
 
 In mid-September, Cosmopolitan UK ran with the story. Reactions varied. Zodiac tattoo bearers lamented their now-obsolete tats. Ophiuchus was deemed unpronounceable. Others chose to ignore the changes and stick to the 12 signs they are used to. 
 
 Nor is this the first time Ophiuchus and a shifting axis have thrown the zodiac into limbo. In 2011, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported on the wobble’s astrological impact and the not-so-lost sign. (The Washington Post wondered whether Taylor Swift was best served as a Scorpio, Ophiuchus or Sagittarius, deciding she could be all of them.) 
 
 This time around, NASA took to its Tumblr account to clarify that it did not set out to blow up anyone’s astrological calendar. 
 
 [Astronauts’ well-kept secret: ‘Space has a smell’] 
 
 “Here at NASA, we study astronomy, not astrology,” the space agency wrote in a statement Tuesday. “We didn’t change any zodiac signs, we just did the math.” 
 
 NASA’s ultimate counterargument is that the zodiac calendar is a fantasy on par with a fortune cookie. Fun and a little funky, perhaps, but in no way life-changing. 
 
 There is a brief but convincing history of scientists investigating, and failing to prove, astrological claims. In a double-blind experiment published in 1985 in the journal Nature, Shawn Carlson, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley tasked 28 astrologers with matching tests. Volunteers filled out a personality survey and provided their birth information. Carlson, after removing the volunteers’ identities, had astrologers match the surveys with a corresponding astrological birth chart. 
 
 The results indicated the astrologers fared no better than chance. “We are now in a position to argue a surprisingly strong case against natal astrology as practiced by reputable astrologers,” Carlson concluded. 
 
 [Morning Mix The source of the Southwest’s mysterious space fireball: Not a UFO. Or Santa.] 
 
 Distant constellations, or even planets in our solar system, do not emit any known forces that could have a dramatic and personal effect on our lives, pointed out astronomer and science writer Phil Plait. If gravity ruled astrology, the moon would far overpower any other heavenly body, he noted. Likewise, if electromagnetic forces were the culprit, everything but the awesome power of the sun could be discounted. Nothing else in the heavens really comes close. 
 
 And if you are worried about the next time Mercury is in retrograde, breathe easy. The planet seems to change direction — traveling east to west rather than west to east — as matter of perspective on Earth, not orbital pinball. (It’s akin to the way a car appears to move backward from a fast train, even if car and train are moving in the same direction.) Contrary to pop astrology, Mercury has no bearing on your electronics. 
 
 [Watch astronaut Scott Kelly play ping pong with a water droplet] 
 
 The altered zodiac calendar, via Cosmopolitan UK: ||||| NASA kicked up an internet firestorm when it explained that the tilting of Earth's axis has caused the traditional astrological signs to shift. Why you shouldn't worry if you are no longer a Taurus. 
 
 An image released by Nasa shows the Heart and Soul nebulae in an infrared mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The image covers an area of the sky in the constellation Cassiopeia. 
 
 All over the world, people check their horoscopes to see what's in store for them for the day. 
 
 For most, it is an entertaining, meaningless diversion, but a few genuinely believe in the predictions based on their astrological sign. 
 
 But NASA made waves in the astrological community with its recent post explaining that the astrological signs – constellations that the sun appears to move through during the year – have changed as the Earth's axis has shifted over the 30 centuries since the ancient Babylonians invented astrology. 
 
 The uproar was such that NASA's tumblr felt compelled to release a follow-up explanation, emphasizing that astrology is a pseudoscience. 
 
 The root of the uproar was apparently an article in Cosmopolitan magazine that claimed that NASA had shaken up the zodiac calendar, and that 86 percent of the star signs people think that they were born under were now incorrect. NASA's "correction" of the zodiac calendar also included a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus, adding further fuel to the viral wildfire that quickly spread across the internet. 
 
 According to the NASA post (meant for children) that began the hubbub, the Earth's axis has shifted in the 3,000 years since the signs of the zodiac were first defined. As a result, the constellations over which the sun appears to move have also shifted. The post also pointed out that the sun moves over a 13th constellation, which the Babylonians deigned not to include in the zodiac in order to preserve their 12-month calendar. 
 
 None of this is new information, points out Phil Plait of Slate Magazine. He notes that astrologers have been ignoring the 13th constellation for thousands of years, and that sun actually passes through up to 21 constellations, by some counts. 
 
 The origins of the zodiac come from a time when astronomers believed that the universe was geocentric, that is, that the heavens revolve around the Earth. Early civilizations examined the stars in a search for patterns that could explain how everything worked. Many people ascribed meaning to patterns of stars in the sky, giving rise to the idea of constellations of stars that represented various aspects of their respective mythologies. As time went on, humans would chart the movements of these constellations and realize that there were predictable patterns in the night sky. These predictions would form the backbone of both astronomy and astrology. 
 
 The Ancient Babylonians divided the ancient sky into 12 pieces, each 30 degrees apart, which followed the sun as it supposedly traveled around the Earth over the course of a year. Each piece was represented by a constellation within that 30-degree arc of sky. The segments of the zodiac were an important early celestial coordinate system that provided early astronomers and astrologers with a more sophisticated understanding of the night sky. But as the heliocentric model took hold in Europe in the 17th century, astronomers abandoned the system. Astrologers stuck with the zodiac, holding on to the mystic notion that the movement of the stars could predict the future. 
 
 In 1930, the first modern newspaper horoscope, "What the Stars Foretell," was created by Richard Harold (R.H.) Naylor, who was tasked with predicting the future of Princess Margaret in England for the Sunday Express newspaper, according to Linda Rodriguez in an article for the Smithsonian. He continued to publish various astrological predictions about the royal family until he began to branch out into predictive advice for common folk whose birthday fell within the week of his column's publishing. Soon, "What the Stars Foretell" developed into the generalization-laden "star sign" predictions that remain popular to this day. 
 
 While most people tend to not take their astrological sign seriously, it is ubiquitous enough in popular culture. Birthstones and zodiac tattoos, for instance, are a perennially popular methods of body decoration that could be threatened by a shift in the constellations they evoke. 
 
 NASA reassured its followers on Tumblr that while the zodiac signs are technically off because of Earth's shifting planetary axis, there's nothing "wrong" about their original signs, since astrology has no special predictive power anyway. 
 
 "So, we didn't change any zodiac signs," said NASA's tumblr post. "We just did the math." ||||| While most people probably make their important life decisions based on, oh I don't know, common sense and things like that, there's a certain type of person in this world that relies on the magic of astrology to help them figure what they're going to do. 
 
 Yes, naturally we're in the latter half of that situation - and that's why we're really struggling with the news that the dates assigned to our zodiac signs have changed. Meaning we've all probably got a new star sign. SORRY WHAT. 
 
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 NASA have decided to ruin our lives update the astrological signs for the first time in 2,000 years, meaning that a whopping 86% of us now have a different sign. 
 
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 If you want to get all technical about it, the reason for this radical change is down to the fact that the sky today is extremely different to how it was thousands of years ago, which makes sense. 
 
 And because Earth's axis no longer points in the same direction, our astrological signs are about a month out. 
 
 So what does this mean for you? Well, here's what the ~new~ star sign dates look like: 
 
 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 
 
 Oh yeah, let's talk about ol' Ophiuchus, shall we? NASA sneakily added a 13th zodiac sign a while back, like's it no big thing. WELL. IT. IS. 
 
 Ancient astrologers decided to ditch this particular constellation at the time in order for the 12 other signs to divide equally around the sun. 
 
 But now we guess it's back in the game, and so if you were born between the 29th of November and the 17th December... well, congrats on that. 
 
 We don't know about you, but we need to reassess our lives right now. 
 
 Update (21/9/2016): NASA have since responded to all the confusion with this... 
 
 Laurie Cantillo of the Planetary Exploration, Heliophysics department told BBC Trending: "We didn't change any zodiac signs, we did the math. NASA reported that because the Earth's axis has changed, the constellations are no longer in the same place they were thousands of years ago. 
 
 "The Space Place feature that sparked this is about how astrology is not astronomy, how it was a relic of ancient history, and pointed out the science and math that come from observations of the night sky." 
 
 Essentially, what they're saying is that astrology is not the same as astronomy. Glad that's cleared up, then. 
 
 Follow Charlotte on Twitter. 
 
 Like this? Come and check us out on Snapchat Discover. ||||| Sofia Whitcombe began her day with the startling realization that she might not be exactly who she thought she was. 
 
 “My whole life, I thought I was a Capricorn,” the 25-year-old New York publicist said. “Now I’m a Sagittarius? I don’t feel like a Sagittarius!” 
 
 Countless people were astonished by the “news” in Monday’s Star Tribune in which Minneapolis astronomy instructor Parke Kunkle affirmed that the Earth’s “wobble” has shifted the zodiac signs. The buzz has raced across the Web like a shooting star. 
 
 Some people seemed angry. “I believe it’s a zodiac scam,” said Jose Arce, 38, from Fort Lee, N.J., who runs a body shop. “I’ve known myself to be a Sagittarius, I believe, since I was born. So to come up now with some new sign? It’s unacceptable!” 
 
 Others who took to the blogosphere to gnash and wail displayed a mix of: 
 
 Defiance: “Dude, I’m a Leo and always will be a Leo, no matter where the sun is on August 5th. Besides, this very expensive 
 
 tattoo on my right shoulder tells me so.” 
 
 YOUR REAL HOROSCOPE Astrology buffs who follow the stars should be using these dates, reflecting where the stars currently are aligned (note: the days overlap because the periods don't begin and end at midnight): 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. 23-29. Ophiuchus:* Nov. 29-Dec. 17. Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20. Astrology buffs who follow the stars should be using these dates, reflecting where the stars currently are aligned (note: the days overlap because the periods don't begin and end at midnight):Jan. 20-Feb. 16.Feb. 16-March 11.March 11-April 18.April 18-May 13.May 13-June 21.June 21-July 20.July 20-Aug. 10.Aug. 10-Sept. 16.Sept. 16-Oct. 30.Oct. 30-Nov. 23.Nov. 23-29.* Nov. 29-Dec. 17.Dec. 17-Jan. 20. * Discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year. Source: Livescience.com 
 
 Consternation: “Darn it, the whole time I thought I was an introvert, now to find out that I’m an extrovert. I’m going to need awhile to unravel my life.” 
 
 Delight: “Upgrade from Cancer to Gemini. Woo!” 
 
 No matter that Kunkle, who started it all, said it was an old story — 2,000 years old, actually — and that astrologers were insisting it wouldn’t change a thing. 
 
 
 
 Cosmic rumble 
 
 Surely Kunkle’s horoscope for this week was something along the lines of “you will be a center of attention.” 
 
 “It’s been unreal,” he said Friday afternoon, estimating that he has received more than 100 media requests from as far away as Germany. “I have had messages upon messages.” 
 
 In the article, Kunkle affirmed that since the Babylonian zodiac periods were established millennia ago, the moon’s gravitational pull has made the Earth “wobble” around its axis in a process called precession. That has created about a one-month bump in the stars’ alignment, meaning that “when [astrologers] say that the sun is in ­Pisces, it’s really not in Pisces,” said Kunkle, who teaches astronomy courses at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. 
 
 Astrologers across the country reported a wave of calls, e-mails or website hits from concerned clients. “People are more attached and loyal to their signs than they thought,” said Eric Francis, editor of PlanetWaves.net, who said he had had 25,000 hits on his site since midnight. “It’s interesting how many people are panicking their sign is wrong.” 
 
 New news or old, most people had never heard it before. And one of the more fascinating elements was talk of a new sign altogether. 
 
 By the reckoning of Kunkle and other astronomers, astrologers are not only a month off in their zodiac signs, but they are neglecting a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus (Ooh-FEE-yew-kus) the Serpent Bearer, for those born from Nov. 30 to Dec. 17. 
 
 According to myth, Ophiuchus became a healer when he killed a snake and another appeared with an herb in his mouth that revived the dead one. 
 
 “The sun has been going through Ophiuchus for thousands of years,” said Kunkle, who says that his sign is “vegetarian.” 
 
 Linda Zlotnick, an astrologer for 32 years in St. Paul, said she and fellow astrologers have long known of the issue raised by Kunkle, but that the most commonly used zodiac — tropical — isn’t affected by it. Zlotnick, also known as “Moonrabbit,” said the 
 
 sidereal zodiac, which isn’t as widely used, IS based on the constellations. 
 
 Other astrologers expressed resentment that the brouhaha had been launched by an astronomer. 
 
 Francis, who is based in New York, said he’s weary of the endless skirmish between astronomy and astrology. 
 
 “When astronomers make fun of us, they’re making fun of the human suffering that leads people to seek answers,” he said. “People do get comfort and wisdom from astrology — and science gives us Prozac.” 
 
 A spokeswoman for the American Federation of Astrologers, Shelley Ackerman, said she’d been swamped with e-mails from worried clients. She advises them not to overreact. 
 
 “This doesn’t change your chart at all. I’m not about to use it,” she said. “Every few years, a story like this comes out and scares the living daylights out of everyone, but it’ll go away as quickly as it came.” 
 
 That should make one demographic happy — people with zodiac tattoos. 
 
 Sam Bielinski, who owns Atomic Tattoos in Milwaukee, estimated that one in five customers asks for a zodiac tattoo. “I think most people are going to brush it off,” he said of the new zodiac. 
 
 Kunkle, meanwhile, is ready to brush off the whole brouhaha. 
 
 “This has been,” he said, “an exhausting hoot.” 
 
 Staff writer Bill Ward and the Associated Press contributed to this report ||||| Meet Ophiuchus, new zodiac sign 
 
 If Internet buzz is any indication, you've probably already heard there was a new addition to the zodiac family today: Ophiuchus. 
 
 The new sign, represented by a serpent tamer, was brought to light by a recent news report about how we've been observing zodiac signs incorrectly for centuries because of the moon's gravitational pull. Read more on that here. 
 
 With that revelation came the introduction of Ophiuchus, an astrological entity discarded by the ancient Babylonians because they only wanted 12 signs. According to this new zodiac method, Ophiuchus is the sign for those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17. 
 
 The sign is associated with healing, enlightenment, medicine and higher education -- and also with black holes. That's oddly coincidental, given this discovery announced Wednesday. 
 
 (Note: Not everyone is thrilled with the addition of Ophiuchus.)
– OMG, did your star sign change? Probably, and you didn't even know it. A controversy erupted on social media this month after Cosmopolitan picked up on a NASA post aimed at kids about how the signs of the zodiac came to be, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Because the sky has changed over the eons, the constellations no longer line up as the ancient Babylonians first mapped them 3,000 years ago, explained NASA. That means the astrological signs are now about a month off—theoretically ruining tattoos across the globe—and that "a whopping 86% of us now have a different sign," wrote Charlotte Warwick in Cosmo. (Her post provides the new dates.) What's more, the space agency noted a 13th star sign at the end of the calendar: Ophiuchus (tucked between Scorpio and Sagittarius). OK, so what does that mean for those who faithfully follow their horoscope? Nothing, says NASA, because astrology is fake. "Astronomy is not astrology," the space agency writes on Tumblr. "We didn't change any zodiac signs, we just did the math." Tell that to hot-headed Scorpios (now Nov. 23-Nov. 29) who have been told they are gentle-souled Libras (Oct. 20-Nov. 23). Or to those under the new impossible-to-pronounce sign Ophiuchus (Nov. 29-Dec. 17). "Your new talents include architecture and snake-bearing," writes Ben Guarino in the Washington Post. He explains that the Babylonians ditched the 13th constellation, unable to fit them all into 12 months. At least there's some good news for those under Ophiuchus: serpents make very cool tats. (This might blow over: The Minnesota Planetarium Society discussed the issue years ago.)