Zodiac Sign (sign)

AstronomicalTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

One twelfth of a turn (30 degrees): the arc of the ecliptic occupied by one sign of the zodiac.

1 zodiac sign = 0.08333333333 turns (approximately).

About the zodiac sign

The zodiac is a belt of sky about 8 degrees to either side of the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent yearly path, and it holds the Moon and the bright planets. It is divided into 12 equal signs of 30 degrees of ecliptic longitude each. Babylonian astronomers created the equal division in the late fifth century BCE, probably between 409 and 398 BCE, drawing on older star catalogs such as MUL.APIN. With the Sun advancing roughly a degree a day, it spends about a month in each sign.

Two systems exist. The tropical zodiac, used in Western astrology, anchors Aries to the Sun's position at the March equinox. The sidereal zodiac, used in Hindu astrology, ties the signs to the fixed stars. The signs are exact 30-degree slices, while the constellations they are named for vary widely in width, and precession of about 1.4 degrees per century has moved the March equinox from Aries into Pisces. A sign, as a unit, is therefore 1/12 of a turn rather than a constellation.

Sources: Wikipedia: Zodiac; Wikipedia: Degree (angle)

Zodiac Sign conversion chart

1 zodiac sign expressed in every other angle unit:

More Astronomical units

• milliarcsecond (angle)
• hour angle (angle)
• astronomical unit (length)
• light-second (length)
• light-minute (length)
• light-hour (length)
• light-year (length)
• parsec (length)
• megaparsec (length)
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• solar mass (weight & mass)
• Julian year (time)
• tropical year (time)
• sidereal year (time)
• synodic month (time)
• sidereal day (time)

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