Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

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JayTee United States of America
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Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#1

Post by JayTee »


Astronomy versus Astrology – What’s the Difference?

Astronomy and Astrology were both studied in ancient times to understand the movements and patterns displayed by the visible celestial bodies and how that influenced our daily/weekly/yearly/entire lives. These terms were interchangeable. However, over time, the two fields diverged and developed in different ways.

In the 17th century, the term "Astronomy" was adopted to describe the study of the cosmos, replacing the term "Astrology" which had been used previously. This change reflected the increasing emphasis on observation, measurement, and scientific methodology in the study of the cosmos.

Today, Astronomy is a rigorous scientific discipline that is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. It seeks to understand the physical laws and phenomena that govern the universe. Astrology, on the other hand, is still practiced by some, as a form of divination or spiritual practice, but it is not considered a scientific field of study.


Bottom line: these terms are NOT interchangeable!

I printed the above to inform those viewers on the internet who stumble across our forums.

.........................................................


Back story. This post came about because last week I supplied my local newspaper with "April's Observing Events". A list of what Astronomical events are viewable in April. Last Friday I opened the paper and on the inside front page I see this -- in HUGE bold type:

Astrological events for April

I thought OK not a big deal until I saw that both my name and a reference that I am an amateur astronomer living in Hayden were supplied with this list. Well, now, I look like a total RUBE for not knowing the difference between Astronomy and Astrology. I then contacted my best friend because he suggested I write up this article on viewing events. BTW, he is the publisher of that paper. And oh BTW², he also owns a telescope! So needless to say that this caused a mild "sheet" storm at the paper. Many apologies were issued and corrections were made.

This got me thinking that there is a large (and I mean large) population of people out there who think these two words ARE interchangeable (at best) or are unaware that the word Astronomy/Astronomical even exists (at worst). For those of you who do or have done outreach events, how many times have you heard the word astrology used?

So the above is the preface for next month's Astronomy Viewing Events.

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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#2

Post by helicon »


Holy Cow JT. At the WACO/W.W.U. event down at the barn in the Valley here last August we had a few folks say they wanted to get more into astrology when the club scopes were set up. A couple of us almost had heart attacks. Even though the speaker (Astrophysics professor at WWU and a UW Ph.D.) talked about astronomy some folks clearly got confused.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#3

Post by Gordon »


This might help for those confused:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#4

Post by KathyNS »


In most people's minds, the "-ology" ending indicates a science. And in most cases it does. When the two disciplines split, it should have been the science that got the -ology ending, and the divination technique that should have changed to astro-<something else>. So a certain amount of confusion is understandable, if not forgivable.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#5

Post by JayTee »


KathyNS wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 9:59 pm In most people's minds, the "-ology" ending indicates a science. And in most cases it does. When the two disciplines split, it should have been the science that got the -ology ending
I agree entirely. I believe this new science did not have a lot of "clout" to wrestle away this word when they had to go up against the well-established soothsayers and shamans of the time.
KathyNS wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 9:59 pmand the divination technique that should have changed to astro-<something else>.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#6

Post by SkyHiker »


KathyNS wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 9:59 pm In most people's minds, the "-ology" ending indicates a science. And in most cases it does. When the two disciplines split, it should have been the science that got the -ology ending, and the divination technique that should have changed to astro-<something else>. So a certain amount of confusion is understandable, if not forgivable.
Maybe the other way around, -logy is "subject matter" and -nomy is about "rules/laws/knowledge", as in science. Not that it matters, I was just curious.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#7

Post by seigell »


At least the local paper didn't verge into Flat-Eartherism territory. They're far more RABID than the average Soothsayer or Tea-Leafer...
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#8

Post by Richard »


At the moment we know nothing so perhaps in many years time someone will answer it
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#9

Post by Bigzmey »


SkyHiker wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 11:18 pm
KathyNS wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 9:59 pm In most people's minds, the "-ology" ending indicates a science. And in most cases it does. When the two disciplines split, it should have been the science that got the -ology ending, and the divination technique that should have changed to astro-<something else>. So a certain amount of confusion is understandable, if not forgivable.
Maybe the other way around, -logy is "subject matter" and -nomy is about "rules/laws/knowledge", as in science. Not that it matters, I was just curious.
Regardless of the Greek meaning of -logy suffix, many sciences have it in their names: biology, sociology, physiology, neurology, etc. Hence confusion.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#10

Post by jrkirkham »


I'm not sure but I always thought the ology ending came from logos, which just means word. A word about life, society, cosmos, etc. Even the first word of a book (prologue) etc.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#11

Post by Makuser »


@jrkirkham. Hi Rob and don't forget about philology - the study of words, their origins, and relationships.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#12

Post by JayTee »


Here is an interesting article that discusses those two suffixes. Plus another one.

Here's the link:
https://blogs.transparent.com/english/e ... of%20study.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#13

Post by jrkirkham »


JayTee wrote: Wed Apr 12, 2023 7:22 pm Here is an interesting article that discusses those two suffixes. Plus another one.

Here's the link:
https://blogs.transparent.com/english/e ... of%20study.
That's interesting! Thanks for posting.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#14

Post by SparWeb »


To put the names in perspective, it's helpful to remember that Isaac Newton, seen as one of astronomy's founders, eventually grew bored of calculus and turned his attention to... alchemy. Our friends in chemistry have the same troubled ancestry. Much the same can be said of other disciplines such as archaeology and psychology where you can find darker criminal origins.

Science has always been a gradual, tentative, feeling around in the dark, until the real can be sorted out from the imagined.
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Re: Astronomy or Astrology - Which One Is Discussed Here?

#15

Post by Baurice »


If you were born when the Sun was in Ophiuchus, the Moon in Cetus, Saturn in Orion and Pluto in Triangulum, I can guarantee 100% that you won't win the jackpot on the lottery this weekend.
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