Hey everyone, Laci Green here for DNews. Astrology is based on the premise that celestial bodies

(like the sun, the moon, planets, and constellations) have an effect on what happens on earth, who

you are as a person, and how people behave -- based on when they were born. Not to be

confused with ASTRONOMY, which is the study of those celestial bodies themselves -- their

properties and placement and such.

Now I have a lot of friends, and my adorable little sister particularly, who are REALLY

INTO ASTROLOGY. It's how they start their day and the foundation for their relationships

with other people, the foundation for understanding themselves. As much as I love them, the scientist

within me is cringing. Nah man, naaahhhhhh.

Why does astrology make scientists cringe? I mean, it seems scientific enough what with

all the tracking of planetary movements, star charts, and complicated formulas. But astrology

isn't an actual science because...wellll (1) It's not based on evidence, (2) it's conclusions

aren't testable, (3) it isn't open to review by other scientists and...my favorite, number

(4): it's un...fals..ifiable... Astrology can't be proven wrong...and that's the heart

of what science is. The assertions of astrology are so general and open to interpretation

that we can always find a way to see it in a factual light. We saw this effect in James

Randi's famous "Astrology Test". Participants were given specific horoscopes based on when

and where they were born. After reading, they ALL rated their horoscope as "very" or "extremely"

accurate. Then, they were passed their neighbor's horoscope--and learned that they all had the

same exact one.

Other scientists have also looked at astrology's claims about careers. The idea is that being

born under Mars, a supposedly warlike planet, produces more soldiers and athletes, whereas

Venus produces more artistic types. In a study of 25,000 Frenchmen in the 60's, psychologist

Michel Gauquelin found no correlations. He also did a study where he mixed up the birth

charts of 10 murderers with 10 citizens and invited astrologers to identify which was

which based on the charts. They failed miserably. A similar but larger study was published in

2007 and they found that the astrologers were EVEN MORE WRONG THAN RANDOM CHANCE. Youch.

Yet another study at the University of Manchester in 2001 looked at love compatibility by astrological

sign to see if there were any trends. They had the data of 10 million couples from Census

of Britain and Wales and found not a single sign pairing that showed a greater or lesser

chance of romantic success.

There's also the fact that the sun is no longer in a given zodiac constellation during it's

designated time anymore. Although the sun is supposed to be in Aries right now, that's

based on an outdated model -- it's actually in Pisces until April 18th. This is because

of precession, a phenomenon where the earth wobbles on its axis every 25,800-year-cycle.

Most peoples' signs that they believe they have...are actually wrong. Mine, for instance,

isn't actually Libra, it's Virgo. And the description still manages to fit!

Does this all mean astrology is good for nothing? Well, no, of course not...it's good for entertainment!

It's all good fun. My concern is that a recent report by the NSF that found almost half of

Americans think Astrology is a real science. AMERICA...DUZ U KNOW HOW TO SCIENCE? We still

don't. The struggle continues. Thanks for joining me for DNews my fellow science geeks.

We'll see you next time with more science updates.