Astrology and astronomy vary primarily in that the former is a science and the latter is not.
Astronomy
What is astronomy? The observation and fact-based explanation of the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere is known as astronomy. In addition to providing solutions to many other concerns about the cosmos, astronomy explains how planets travel, how black holes gather mass, how stars shine, and how galaxies recede from us. It is a science founded on observations, hypotheses, and models. The outcomes of space model creation must be repeatable and produced by procedures outlined in the scientific method.
Humans are not the main focus of astronomy. It only addresses how events and phenomena in space behave when they occur outside of Earth. The only time we get close to including people in astronomy is when we look for extraterrestrial life. Astronomers are unable to completely agree on what life even implies, even in that situation. Put another way, people don’t matter in astronomy.
An astronomer is a person who investigates space and its phenomena to provide answers to “how”-related queries.
Astrology
Astrology is not like this depiction in any way. Astrology is the concept that the direction of celestial bodies impacts our bodies and brains. In practical application, astrology involves creating a horoscope based on a person’s birthdate and place of birth and then having the belief that the planets’ positions influence a newborn baby’s personality and health in the solar system. While science undoubtedly determines the positions of planets, the interpretation of how they affect people on Earth is largely non-scientific, necessitating the classification of this knowledge as superstition or belief.
When interpreting the velocity and location of celestial bodies, astrology necessitates that a human be the point of reference because it is a science that is entirely focused on humans. Because of this, some people utilize astrology as a compass in their lives or as a tool to help them make important decisions.
A person who interprets planet and star positions based on astrology is called an astrologer.
Is Astrology Inaccurate?
Astrology is not incorrect in general. It’s also acceptable to knock on wood in the hopes of a pleasant outcome or toss salt over your shoulder after spilling anything. While it’s not incorrect, it’s also not scientific. It’s a folk belief.
Astrology is an outdated superstition. As long as they don’t cause harm or constitute a threat, people in free societies are free to base their decisions and way of living whatever they like. It’s acceptable to have superstitions. When astronomers submit grant bids, they sincerely hope that this time around funding will come their way and cross their fingers and pound on wood. However, they don’t use it as a basis for scientific thinking because it isn’t scientific to cross your fingers and hope for the best. Though enjoyable, it is not science.
The classification of astrology as a science is incorrect, and I believe this is the main point of contention in this dispute. It is wrong on definitional grounds, but more significantly, it is wrong on an ethical one. It is misleading advertising to promote astrology as a science.
There Is No Science in Astrology. Conversely, astronomy is not a belief system.
There is no comparison or interchangeability between the two ideas. The one is the scientific study of space, while the second is a kind of manual for living. Both astrology and astronomy are inappropriate for use in space-related scientific research and as life guides. As easy as that.
Astrology is frequently marketed as a science, despite the evident reasons why it is not. Most likely because attaching a scientific title to fortune-telling allows one to make a lot more money. Furthermore, the only basis for support is the confusion between correlation and causation.
Did it rain when you were born, or was it just a rainy day when you were born?
Causality is required in astronomy to explain a phenomenon. Scientists simulate an event and wait for it to occur in space, somewhere that we can view it, to make predictions. If the event’s result is consistent with what our model predicted, we can reasonably infer what transpired.
Einstein’s explanation of why Mercury should process by an extra 43 seconds of arc every century serves as a good illustration of causation. This would result from his general relativity theory, which was developed over a century ago. Mercury was known to exhibit certain behaviors, but the reason behind them was still unknown. Through his general relativity theory, Einstein discovered the missing cause.
The definition of causation is “when A happens, then B will also happen,” independent of the number of times an event occurs. A key component of the scientific method is causality.
Correlation is the opposite of causation. A correlation occurs when two random events take place at the same time. This website has the best illustrations of what a correlation is. For example, “Number of people who drowned by falling into a pool Vs. Films Nicolas Cage appeared in” illustrates the association between seemingly random incidents. The graph shows a perfect correlation between these two events, but naturally, since a new Nicholas Cage movie has come out, people don’t drown in swimming pools. It appears plausible based on the graph, but it’s still absurd. Causality differs from correlation. Although correlation can be persuasive, it is an unexplained phenomenon. All it demonstrates is the simultaneous occurrence of two random events.
A lot of astrology relies on correlation, which is sometimes confused with causation. When Jupiter rises in the East, your financial situation is problematic. When you include a diagram, it might become very persuasive that Jupiter’s current location negatively affects your financial situation.
However, it doesn’t. If you are having financial difficulties, capitalism is most likely to blame. Not Jupiter.
While they coexist, astrology and astronomy are unrelated. Now
Astronomy and astrology were two components of a scientific stew a few centuries ago. It made sense at the time. As scientists worked to connect the dots, it made natural sense to incorporate theories of various connections throughout the universe, such as the ones that have been hypothesized between the human mind and celestial bodies.
It may even be argued that astrology was the precursor to astronomy. Based on planetary motion and star constellations, an astronomer in the Renaissance may serve as a personal advisor to the king, predicting the king’s health and future actions. As a result, astronomy gained recognition in the upper society, which was home to known scientists. Astronomy is still well-represented in science, even if scientists eventually abandoned astrology.
Since the Renaissance, a lot has changed in our society. Huge galaxies and minuscule atoms are known to function. We are skilled at both wound healing and infection defense. Additionally, we know that planets have no bearing on one’s life circumstances.