Twelve Zodiac

Right from the days of prehistoric men, through Ptolemy and Galileo, to modern times, stars have fascinated the humankind.Many of you must be a regular reader of astrological predictions based on sun signs. But chances are none of you wondered how do they appear in the night sky.

How to Locate Zodiac Signs?

We, at excellup, have researched into this mysterious topic and have made an easy to understand animation to kindle the interest of star-gazing in you. You don't need a telescope nor a complicated star map to identify them. All you need is clear sky and a rough diagram drawn on plain paper.

In the northern hemisphere the zodiac band runs from south east to south west. Try to get familiar with moon's path and you will get a fair idea of where to find these zodiacs. The zodiac with the greatest clarity is Scorpio followed by Sagittarius and Leo.

Facts About Zodiac

Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude.The zodiac is recognized as the first known celestial coordinate system. Babylonian astronomers developed the zodiac of eighteen signs.The Mayans used twenty signs.

The zodiac also means a region of the celestial sphere that includes a band of eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic, and therefore encompasses the paths of the Moon and the naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn).(cf: www.wikipedia.org)

The ecliptic path spanning the sky is 360 degrees and is divided into 12 parts by zodiac signs. Unlike the zodiac signs in astrology, which are all thirty degrees in length, the other astronomical constellations vary widely in size. (cf:www.wikipedia.org)