Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...

214 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
defend astrology, they frequently use misleading terms. One web
site (www.astrology.com) defines the basic force behind astrology
by stating:
In some ways, the forces between the Planets involved in Astrology
can be simplified into one word: gravity. The Sun has the
greatest gravity and the strongest effect in Astrology, followed by
the Moon, the Earth’s satellite. The other Planets are not truly
satellites of the Earth, but nevertheless, they have gravity and so
affect the Earth. The Sun controls the Earth’s motion and the
Moon controls its tides, but the other Planets have their own
effects on the Earth—and on the people who live on Earth.
Sometimes their influences can be so strong that they outweigh
the Sun’s energy!
But this makes no sense at all. If gravity is the dominant force,
why doesn’t it matter if Mars is on the same side of the Sun as the
Earth when you are born, or the opposite side? Mars’ gravitational
influence on the Earth drops by a factor of more than 50 from one
side of the Sun to the other. One would think this would be an
incredibly important detail, yet it is ignored in most horoscopes.
It’s also easy to show that the Moon has a gravitational effect
on the Earth (and you) that is more than 50 times the combined
gravity of the planets. It seems to me that if gravity were the overriding
factor in astrology, the Moon would influence us 50 times
more than do the planets.
Astrology apologists sometimes look to other forces like electromagnetism.
That’s an even worse choice than gravity, since the
Sun’s effect on us is millions of times that of any other object in
the sky. The Sun’s solar wind of charged particles is what causes
aurorae, and a strong electromagnetic outburst from the Sun can
trigger electricity blackouts and even damage satellites. This is a
genuine physical effect and will have far more influence on your
day than any horoscope.
Astrologers must then rely on some force that is not like gravity
or electromagnetism. Some claim this force does not decrease
with distance, thus sidestepping the problem of the planets’ true distance
when you are born. But this opens up a new can of worms: