The recent controversial announcement of a thirteenth zodiac sign created a frenzy over social media and caused some astrological believers to feel “lost” and “confused” about their personality and future outlooks. However, NASA astrophysicist Dr. Grant Tremblay debunked the rumor of a new zodiac sign.

The additional sign, Ophiuchus, would cover November 29 to December 17, and potentially shift all of the the other signs. An article which linked NASA with the “new” sign quickly spread over social media outlets this summer and fall.

“We have many missions in NASA; defining astrological signs is not one of them,” Tremblay, currently a NASA Einstein Fellow at Yale University said. “NASA has no role in updating the zodiac.”

Over Facetime, Tremblay shared it was a NASA children’s website, Space Place, that made a minor update on an old zodiac article about the constellations.

“This article on Space Place just simply noted that the positions of those constellations have changed because they are about 1,000 years old,” Tremblay said.

The website claimed that the old astrological signs are outdated, and that there are new “dates” for the zodiac sign. When the website stated that the Babylonians left a sign out, many people misinterpreted that it meant that a horoscope had formed, which would alter almost all of the dates of the existing signs.

According to Tremblay, there are actually 21 constellations rather than 12, but the 12 constellations were the only ones totally visible in ancient times so the ancient star-gazers and astrologers who followed the visible constellations disregarded the other nine signs.

“I had never really cared about horoscopes prior to hearing that they changed, but when I heard my horoscope might be altered, I thought it was really interesting,” senior Max Donahue said.
Donahue, a Virgo, would be a Leo according to the updated zodiac.

Some students of Algonquin panicked over the news of a new sign, feeling as though their new horoscope would not fit their personality.

“I’ve been a Capricorn my whole life, and I couldn’t imagine following a new horoscope,” senior Maggie Shatz said.

According to the newly aligned horoscopes, Shatz would be a Sagittarius.

Tremblay’s confirmation that there is not truly an additional sign and that a “new constellation” has not appeared is reassurance to students who can continue to follow the sign they’ve had their whole lives.

“I was super confused at first because it was all over social media, but I’m glad that it’s not true,” junior Ava Shaw said.

Tremblay wishes that NASA would get more coverage on their extensive work rather than false rumors.

“We at NASA, we are very lucky in that we great press sometimes, but sometimes we get very frustrated because the dumbest stories get the most coverage,” Tremblay said. “This is an example of something getting so ridiculously blown out of proportion, and yet is one of the most covered stories of this year.”