Difference between Astronomy and Astrology
Both astronomy and astrology are names of fields of study that, although at first they seem similar, are in fact the two extremes of the same subject. Although in ancient times they used to work together, today astronomy has been differentiated from astrology by being considered one of the most important sciences that exist. Instead, astrology has been relegated to the “ignorant” and charlatans. Both are in charge of the study of the stars and the celestial bodies, however astronomy does it with a scientific approach, while astrology does it with one of divination and interpretation between earthly causes and effects.
Astronomy |
Astrology |
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| etymologies | The word astronomy comes from the Latin astronomĭa , which in turn comes from the Greek ἀστρονομία . Astro, stars; logos/nomos, study, treatises. It literally means studies or standards of the stars. | Astrology, on the other hand, shares the literal meaning of astronomy. This is because both have the same Greco-Latin roots. It comes from the Greek ἀστρολογία , treatise or study of the stars. |
| Definition | Astronomy is the science that studies the universe, the celestial bodies, the planets and their satellites, comets, meteorites, interstellar matter, stars, galaxies and everything related to them. | Instead, astrology is the set of beliefs that ensure that celestial and constellation-related phenomena directly influence earthly events. According to astrology, there is a parallel between the stars (cause) and what happens on Earth (effect). |
| History | This science has accompanied man since time immemorial. Many (one might even say all) ancient civilizations were curious about celestial bodies and devoted themselves to their study and understanding. The Chinese, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, etc., were some of the most prominent civilizations in this field. The bases of astronomy are found in cosmogony, which tries to explain the origin of the Universe through religion and mythology. | Astrology has its origins in Babylon and Egypt. In those days, astrology was highly respectable and considered a science. Many times they put themselves above divination and interpretation, calculations and observation. In this way it was that astronomy arose, as an auxiliary to astrology. Astrology was harshly attacked, firstly by Christianity and secondly by science, as it lost credibility. It was not until a few years ago with the new age movement that astrology became “relevant” again. |
| Science | Currently, astronomy is one of the most respected sciences. It works in conjunction with physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. In fact, it is considered a science for very select scholars: not everyone understands, studies and is dedicated to astronomy. | On the contrary, astrology is considered a pseudoscience. It does not have any kind of scientific validity to back it up, so it is impossible to classify it as a science. |
| Famous characters | Aristotle, Thales of Miletus, Claudius Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Hypatia of Alexandria, Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, among many others. | Many are branded as opportunists and slanderers. However, the world has had some famous astrologers, such as Rick Levine, Walter Mercado, Robert Hand, among others. |
