Astronomy vs Astrology

When you look up at the stars do you think about your future or how you belong in such a large universe? Are you concerned with what planet is the ruler of your sign or how the sun rules your planet? Many people confuse astrology with astronomy when in fact they have many differences. From the history to stars and planets, and even the science behind them, there are many ways to tell them apart. This paper will explain in depth the various differences, including astronomers and astrologists, our solar system and the zodiac constellations, and finally why astronomy is considered a science and astrology, a pseudo science.
Astronomy is defined as the study of matter outside the Earth’s atmosphere. It also studies their chemical and physical properties. Astrology studies the effects of apparent influence of the stars on human life. The effects are determined by the position and movement through-out the night sky. Although they both study celestial objects, astronomy is extremely different because it studies the actual bodies and the physical effects that their motions have on the Earth and other planets.
Before the time of astronomy, most people believed that the Earth was flat. Most cultures also believed that they were in the center of the universe and all things gravitate around them. Aristarchus was one of the first people to voice his belief that the world revolved around the sun and not the other way around. No one at the time believed such outrageous remarks, so Aristarchus’ vision was put back in the closet. That was until around the 1500s, when Nicolaus Copernicus created the first heliocentric model of our solar system. (Copernicus biography, 2007) In this model the sun is not the center of the model, but it’s a little off to one side. Galileo is very well known in the astronomy world. He introduced the law of time and how objects at such great distances could be easily measured by time. A lot of people also associate Galileo with the invention of the...