Volante wrote:bpmod wrote:opusthepenguin wrote:That DD for Pisces was ridiculous! Unless there was a TOM I missed. I don't mind if they do that in a regular question and reward the contestant who happens to know the dates associated with each sign (or who happens to have be a Pisces). But it's just mean to buttonhole a single contestant and force her to respond or lose money on that clue. Knowing precise dates for astrological signs is at best on the fringes of the Jeopardy! canon. And the clue didn't even directly ask which sign corresponded to the start of Spring. You had to infer that. Just nasty.
I musta got lucky on that one, inference and all. I said Pisces because I know somebody who is a Pisces and that is the sign we are in right now. But, it would appear that the start of Spring is, at best, on the cusp of Pisces and whatever is next (which I would have to look up (even though I know lots of people under that sign, too)).
Brian
Aries should count. Aries starts the list of zodiac signs as they start counting from the vernal equinox (a.k.a., the beginning of (traditional) spring). However they would also have to account for meteorological spring which starts March 1, which is Pisces.
This constellation is where you'll find the sun as spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere.
That DD was a fact known to every astronomy hobbyist.
Astronomers have a coordinate system for the sky, analogous to latitude and longitude. Astronomers also have divided the sky into territories called constellations. It's like countries, except there are no disputed territories or international waters. Every piece of the sky belongs to one and only constellation. The sun's location as astronomical spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere is a specific point that is definitively and unambiguously in the constellation Pisces.
Astrologers usually measure the sky solely along the ecliptic, the path of they sun across the sky. This is like defining a position on Earth only by longitude. The sun's location as astrological spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere is definitively and unambiguously in the sign of Aries.
The symbolism of astrology is aligned with the seasons. When it was established around 2000 years ago, the sun was actually in the constellation of Aries when spring began in the Northern Hemisphere. The Earth has wobbled since then and the first moment of spring is now in the constellation Pisces.
To astronomers, the sun passes through 13 constellations of various sizes over the course of the year, including Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, which you've probably never heard of. Astrologers divide the sky into 12 equal sections aligned with the seasons that no longer correspond to the same constellations.
One could argue Volante's point that the clue was ambiguous and could be interpreted as meteorological spring. In that case, the sun in is the constellation Aquarius. Aries is absolutely an incorrect response.