Astronomy and astrology do not agree on the dates of the zodiac constellations.

Roughly 30% of American adults say they consult horoscopes, tarot cards or fortune tellers at least once a year.

The most famous constellations (other than perhaps Orion and the Big Dipper) are the Zodiac constellations. These are twelve constellations that lie along the ecliptic, which is the apparent path ...

So no matter how you slice it, the zodiac—from the member constellations to even the meaning that our pattern-projecting brain assigns to those particular groupings of stars—is made up.

James Kaler is professor emeritus of astronomy at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Sun appears to pass through different zodiac constellations during different parts of the year.

Constellations of the zodiac Over the course of a year, the sun appears to pass through a belt of sky containing 12 ancient constellations, or groupings, of stars.

As a professor emeritus of astronomy, I am often asked about the difference between astrology and astronomy. The practice of astrology, which predicts one’s fate and fortune based on the ...