為什么星座中多了個蛇夫座？.

　　The astronomical zodiac actually contains 13 constellations –the 12 that we’re familiar with plus another one, called Ophiuchus.

　　天文星座實際上有13個星座——12個我們很熟悉的星座加上另外一個蛇夫座。

　　Ophiuchus was deliberately lt out of the original zodiac, over 2000 years ago, even though the Sun clearly passes in front of it after passing in front of Scorpius (commonly known as Scorpio) and bore reaching Sagittarius. The reason for this is not known, but it may be because ancient astrologers wanted to divide the 360 degree path of the Sun in a mathematically pleasing way –12 equal parts, each one of 30 degrees.

　　2000年前，盡管太陽在經(jīng)過天蝎座(英文Scorpius通常寫作Scorpio)后光明正大地在蛇夫座面前經(jīng)過，并朝著射手座方向前進，蛇夫座還是被人故意從原有的星座中剔除。其原因不得而知，但可能是因為古占星家想用比較方便的算術(shù)法來劃分太陽的360度運動路徑——分成12等份，每部分30度。

　　However the true boundaries that divide the constellations, as described by the International Astronomical Union, are far from equal. For example Ophiuchus is behind the Sun for a full 19 days of the year. That’s 12 days more than its neighbour, Scorpius.

　　不過，據(jù)國際天文聯(lián)合會稱，真正劃分星座的分界線很難均等化。舉個例子，蛇夫座在位于距太陽后面整整19天路程的位置，比附近星座天蝎座多出12天路程的距離。

　　So if you were born between 30 November and 18 December, why not claim yourself a totally new star sign?

　　所以如果你是在11月30日到12月18日中間出生的，為什么不把自己歸入到一個新的星座中去呢?