Top Document: [sci.astro] General (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (2/9) Previous Document: B.04 What is the resolution of a telescope? Next Document: B.06 Is there scientific evidence for/against astrology? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Although astronomy and astrology are historically related and many individuals were interested in both, there is today no connection between the two. Hence two different USENET newsgroups exist: sci.astro (for the former) and alt.astrology (for the latter). DO NOT CONFUSE THEM. Astronomy is based on the laws of physics (and therefore mathematics) and aims at describing what is happening to the universe based on what we observe today. Because the laws of physics are constant (as far as we can tell), astronomy can also explain how the universe behaved in the past and can propose a limited number of possible scenarios for its future (see FAQ entry about Big Bang). Everyday life applications of astronomy include calculations/predictions of sunrise/sunset times, moon phases, tides, eclipse locations, comet visibility, encounters between various celestial bodies (e.g., SL9 comet crash onto Jupiter in 1994), spacecraft trajectories, etc. Astrology on the other hand claims it can predict what will happen to individuals (or guess what is happening to them), or to mankind, based on such things as solar system configurations and birth dates. Common applications include horoscopes and such. Regardless of whether there is scientific support for astrology, its goal and methods are clearly distinct from those of astronomy. User Contributions:Top Document: [sci.astro] General (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (2/9) Previous Document: B.04 What is the resolution of a telescope? Next Document: B.06 Is there scientific evidence for/against astrology? Part0 - Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: jlazio@patriot.net
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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