If it is the constellation in which the Sun is, how could people see it during the day time?

How did the ancients discover the Zodiac signs? If it is the constellation for that period that the sun is in, how we could possible see it in day time?|||It isn't that difficult, there are a number of methods one could use.








If you know the altitude of the Sun at local apparent Noon, you know it is at the same declination but 180 degrees opposite of the constellation that you see at local midnight on the same day.








If you see Aries rising in the East just before sunrise, and Gemini setting in the west just after sunset, you know the Sun is located between these two constellations, and you could again, pinpoint its declination with noontime observations.





There are other ways as well, but those are more math heavy.








The easiest, although it takes a long time for it to occur at a specific geographic location, is to wait for a total solar eclipse.|||While it is sometimes possible to see stars during a total eclipse of the Sun, the ancient astronomers mainly figured out the zodiac through careful observation. To anyone who studies the stars, it soon becomes clear that the Moon and all the planets are restricted to a narrow band of constellations in the sky. From observations just before sunrise and just after sunset, it is possible to figure out that the Sun also follows this path, and to determine the date on which it moves from one constellation to the next. Over a period of hundreds or thousands of years, an accurate picture of the Sun's motion was built up.|||You can't, so you have to use calculation. Since there are 12 zodiac signs and they are more or less spaced evenly across the ecliptic, then it seems to be a logical assumption to see which constellation is overhead at midnight and counting six constellations over will give you what constellation is at noon.|||They don't. Why say "possibly", it is impossible.


Sun's location is known by inference.


All know that we can't see the stars around Sun. Still, they (from ancient times, charted out stars in the night sky and handed down to us). Look at the mid-night sky, consult the charts to 'infer' Sun's location. Sun's path is 'Zodiac' (present day Astronomers discarded this nomadic name for an elitist 'Ecliptic') that is a great circle on Celestial Sphere. It cuts the Celestial Equator(other great circle). Both cut at an angle 23.°45.


Stars are there for all of us to see. God provided this spectacle (if you want to view it that way) for human pleasure, enjoyment %26amp; science. No electricity (so obviously no 'night life') was there. Men used to have early meals %26amp; retire. The only avocation for them is to look at the night sky. They did that for several millennia and handed over their folklore to next generation (no language as we know, no writing, no reading then). We don't know who contributed but I am confronted (in Y!A) with questions like 'who discovered Zodiac' (I consider stupid).


Moon's one cycle lasts about a month (29 days between the same phase). Sun's cycle was a year long. They had the Zodiac sectioned into 12 'signs' so that Sun transits a sign in almost the same time Moon executes a cycle. That is how Zodiac (ecliptic) %26amp; signs (constellations) evolved. Ptolemy listed these dozen and another 36 (where Sun, Moon or planets can't go) all over the sky. When the stars were connected as a line diagram (like children do or used to do in their Sunday supplement newspaper) and found (imagined) figures. If you look at the appropriate parts you can see 'Scorpion' or 'Lion' (I see them).Like that all the12 were drawn in the sky. But no one person discovered it; that 'discovery' is the modern obsession. Men from India %26amp; Greeks evolved it and now the signs have almost same names, locations and times.|||I think they worked it out by looking at the constellation patterns at night- you can't see stars during the day because the Sun is so bright.|||It's easy, it's just six months out of step with whatever's opposite the Sun.