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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Australian sees thirteenth zodiac sign CANBERRA - Love, career or life out of sorts? If you're searching for answers in the stars, you may be looking at the wrong ones. A 13th sign has emerged in the 12-sign zodiac thanks to tiny shifts or wobbles in the Earth's rotation around the Sun, an Australian astronomer said. "Basically, the Sun's apparent path has moved since 3000 years ago when astrology was born," John Shobbrook, the manager of Australia National University's Siding Spring observatory told Reuters. The new sign is Ophiuchus, or the Serpent Bearer, which falls between November 30 and December 18, placing it between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The sign, symbolised by the entwined serpents used by doctors and physicians, was observed by Claudius Ptolemy, the father of classical astronomy, and appeared among 48 others in his Al Magest Star Catalogue between 130 and 170 AD. But a 30-degree alignment shift between the Earth and the Sun meant the constellation was now firmly in the zodiac band invented by the Babylonians 3000 years ago, Shobbrook said. "Astrologers don't factor this misalignment in and the ancient astrologers didn't know about it. But they aren't going to change it now," he said. Ophiuchus is pictured in mythology as an elderly man in a cloak supporting a serpent. The southern hemisphere constellation is found near the centre of the Milky Way and in 1604 astronomer Johannes Kepler spotted an exploding star in its midst. Ophiuchus is said to represent Aesculapius, the ancient healer, with the serpent's venom able to cure or kill. People born under the sign are said to be healers, but they are also said to be skilled interpreters of dreams, seekers of peace, poetical and attract good luck. Shobbrook said one wobble of the Earth's axis took 26,000 years to complete and of the dates given for the various signs nowadays, only 37 were accurate. - REUTERS
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