The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-01-28

enee Service. "debunkinr" astroloEy.
By Science serrtce
How is 1t that astrology and as
tronomy. once the same, now are 50
different2 Thousands of years ago,
even as recently as few hundred
years ago, there was little distinction
between them
Last fall astronomers throughout
Al1e world honored the memory Of
Johann Kepler upon the tercenten-
ary of his death. Yet even this
great astronomer did not hesitate to
cast horoscopes for the Emperor
Rudolph.
Iycho Brahe, last and greatest Of
the pretelescopic astronomers. who
died at the beginning Of the seven
feenth century, and with whom mod
Tern astronomy really began, also
was an astrologer on the side. Yet
Today astronomers are unanimous in
their condemnation of astrology.
Back in Egyptian and Babylonian
times, only astrology was studied.
According to current conceptions of
the universe, the earth was at the
center and the most important of all
the bodies. The sun, the moon, all
the planets and the stars, they
thought, revolved around the earth.
Motives Were Misguided
These bodies were only a rather
small distance above us, md since
they supposed man to be the great
est thing on the earth, and hence
in the universe, it was natural to
suppose that the positions of the
planets had an effect on him. Con-
sequently, they carefully studied the
stars, and kept records Of the move
ment of the planets.
Thus they were able to predict
eclipses of the sun and the moon.
They charted the stars, and, even
though their motives were misguid-
ed, they did lay the foundation on
which modern astronomy finally
arose.
But the Greek, Aristarchus of
Samos, was the first, as far as we
know, to dispossess. man from his
place in the center of the universe.
He proposed that the earth was
merely one of family of planets,
all revolving around the sun.
His views were far ahead Of their
time, and they did not prevail. Not
until thousands of years later, In
the middle of the sixteenth CEN
fury, when Copernicus revived it,
did the heliocentric theory begin to
take hold.
Truth Finally Realized
Then, finally, the planets were
recognized for what they are
masses of rock, water, etc., all re-
volving around one of myriads of
stars, and a rather small one at
that. 1t was realized that Venus,
nearest of the planets, is at dis
lance of 100000 miles when
closest. Saturn, most distant of the
naked eye planets, is at an average
distance of about 886,000,000 miles.
Then also, there are the three
planets that have been discovered
in modern tirnes-Uranus, Neptune
and, last year, Pluto. These have
been discovered as a result of as
Economical research, and have been
adopted promptly by the astrolo-
gers, who have been able to learn,
in some mysterious way, what their
respective influences are.
It is curious that, if astrology is
the perfect science that its adher-
ents claim it to be, they didn't
notice that something was missing,
and predict the presence Of these,
and perhaps other planets.
Missed by AstroIogers
Yet, though Neptune and Pluto
were predicted by astronomers be-
fore they actually were ever OBJ
served, there is no record of any
astrologer having done so.
So modern astronomers, while
they appreciate what astrology
did for their science in the begin
ming, now reject it completely as
a pseudo-science. Even Kepler,
three centuries ago, though he
practiced astrology, recognized it
as unreliable.
Probably it was only to make a
livelihood in rather precarious
times that he stopped to it, and
since it enabled him to do the
great and real scientific work with
which his name is associated, he
certainly can be excused. But this
excuse can not be found for mod
ern astrologerS, who contribute
nothing to scientific knowledge.