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( 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 twelve signs.[citation needed] The etymology of the term zodiac is that it comes from the Latin zodiacus, from the Greek ??d?a??? [??????], meaning "circle of animals", derived from ??d???, the diminutive of ???? "animal". However, the classical Greek zodiac also includes signs (also constellations) that are not represented by animals (e.g., Aquarius, Virgo, Gemini and for some Libra). Another suggested etymology is that the Greek term is cognate with the Sanskrit sodi, denoting "a path", i.e., the path through which the Sun travels.[citation needed][1] 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). The classical astronomers called these planets wandering stars to differentiate them from the fixed stars of the celestial sphere (Ptolemy). Astrologers understood the movement of the planets and the Sun through the zodiac as a means of explaining and predicting events on Earth. The modern longitudes for each sign of 30° longitude. In terms of For the sidereal zodiac, the movement of the Sun through each sign corresponds roughly with the constellation of the same name. For the tropical zodiac the movement of the Sun through each sign corresponds roughly to the same days of the Gregorian Calendar each year (precisely the same days relative to the time of the vernal equinox).
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