Panchang · Gochar
Gochar 1987: when each graha changes sign
In 1987, Guru moves into Meena on 3 Feb; Guru moves into Mesha on 16 Jun; Guru moves into Meena on 26 Oct; Shani moves into Dhanu on 17 Dec. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.
The grahas on 1 January 1987
Sidereal (Lahiri) sign, and from when to when. Open a graha for its whole year.
- Surya (Sun)In Dhanusince 16 Dec 1986, until 14 Jan 1987
- Chandra (Moon)In Dhanusince 30 Dec 1986, until 1 Jan 1987
- Mangala (Mars)In Meenasince 30 Dec 1986, until 11 Feb 1987
- Budha (Mercury)In Dhanusince 26 Dec 1986, until 13 Jan 1987
- Guru (Jupiter)In Kumbhasince 25 Jan 1986, until 3 Feb 1987
- Shukra (Venus)In Vrishchikasince 31 Dec 1986, until 30 Jan 1987
- Shani (Saturn)In Vrishchikasince 17 Sep 1985, until 17 Dec 1987
- RahuIn Meenasince 18 Aug 1986, until 6 Mar 1988
- KetuIn Kanyasince 18 Aug 1986, until 6 Mar 1988
Gochar calendar for 1987
Times in IST. Each is the same instant everywhere on Earth. The Moon changes sign every two and a half days, so its list is on its own page.
Sign changeRetrograde / directAsta / rising
January 1987
13 Jan11:33 pm
Budha enters Makara
14 Jan2:59 pm
Surya enters Makara
30 Jan2:47 pm
Shukra enters Dhanu
31 Jan1:08 pm
Budha enters Kumbha
February 1987
2 Feb8:07 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
3 Feb12:46 am
Guru enters Meena
11 Feb4:40 pm
Mangala enters Mesha
13 Feb3:55 am
Surya enters Kumbha
18 Feb9:36 pm
Budha turns retrograde at 20°50′ Kumbha
21 Feb9:21 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 6 Mar†
26 Feb3:10 am
Shukra enters Makara
March 1987
6 Mar12:46 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
12 Mar3:36 pm
Guru becomes combust (asta) until 11 Apr†
13 Mar2:52 am
Budha turns direct at 6°17′ Kumbha
15 Mar12:45 am
Surya enters Meena
23 Mar2:32 pm
Shukra enters Kumbha
27 Mar12:28 pm
Mangala enters Vrishabha
31 Mar9:39 am
Shani turns retrograde at 27°29′ Vrishchika
April 1987
8 Apr8:41 pm
Budha enters Meena
11 Apr12:53 am
Guru rises again (asta ends)†
14 Apr9:14 am
Surya enters Mesha
17 Apr3:37 pm
Shukra enters Meena
24 Apr12:09 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 19 May†
26 Apr4:09 pm
Budha enters Mesha
May 1987
11 May12:55 am
Budha enters Vrishabha
11 May4:01 pm
Mangala enters Mithuna
12 May12:02 pm
Shukra enters Mesha
15 May6:05 am
Surya enters Vrishabha
19 May9:34 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
26 May7:14 am
Budha enters Mithuna
June 1987
6 Jun5:52 am
Shukra enters Vrishabha
15 Jun12:43 pm
Surya enters Mithuna
16 Jun9:14 pm
Guru enters Mesha
21 Jun9:13 am
Budha turns retrograde at 23°08′ Mithuna
26 Jun6:43 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 12 Jul†
27 Jun1:04 am
Mangala enters Karka
30 Jun9:08 pm
Shukra enters Mithuna
July 1987
3 Jul10:53 am
Mangala becomes combust (asta) until 14 Oct†
12 Jul7:57 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
15 Jul1:21 pm
Budha turns direct at 13°43′ Mithuna
16 Jul11:39 pm
Surya enters Karka
18 Jul1:57 am
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 29 Sep†
25 Jul8:59 am
Shukra enters Karka
August 1987
3 Aug12:28 pm
Budha enters Karka
6 Aug11:30 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 5 Sep†
13 Aug2:50 am
Mangala enters Simha
17 Aug8:06 am
Surya enters Simha
18 Aug4:57 pm
Shukra enters Simha
18 Aug11:09 pm
Budha enters Simha
19 Aug2:56 pm
Shani turns direct at 20°51′ Vrishchika
20 Aug2:20 am
Guru turns retrograde at 6°03′ Mesha
September 1987
4 Sep12:13 am
Budha enters Kanya
5 Sep11:19 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
11 Sep9:40 pm
Shukra enters Kanya
17 Sep8:04 am
Surya enters Kanya
23 Sep9:25 pm
Budha enters Tula
29 Sep4:26 am
Mangala enters Kanya
29 Sep1:53 pm
Shukra rises again (asta ends)†
October 1987
6 Oct12:29 am
Shukra enters Tula
14 Oct9:13 pm
Mangala rises again (asta ends)†
16 Oct10:15 pm
Budha turns retrograde at 19°32′ Tula
17 Oct8:02 pm
Surya enters Tula
22 Oct10:01 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 3 Nov†
26 Oct5:10 am
Guru enters Meena (moving backward)
30 Oct2:46 am
Shukra enters Vrishchika
November 1987
3 Nov11:54 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
6 Nov1:09 pm
Budha turns direct at 3°43′ Tula
14 Nov4:23 pm
Mangala enters Tula
16 Nov7:49 pm
Surya enters Vrishchika
23 Nov5:25 am
Shukra enters Dhanu
27 Nov8:13 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 15 Jan†
29 Nov3:23 pm
Shani becomes combust (asta) until 1 Jan†
29 Nov5:05 pm
Budha enters Vrishchika
December 1987
15 Dec6:07 pm
Guru turns direct at 26°05′ Meena
16 Dec10:26 am
Surya enters Dhanu
17 Dec2:03 am
Shani enters Dhanu
17 Dec9:30 am
Shukra enters Makara
18 Dec11:07 pm
Budha enters Dhanu
30 Dec8:36 am
Mangala enters Vrishchika
† Practice varies. Texts and almanacs give slightly different asta limits, and some almanacs use the true rather than the mean node for Rahu and Ketu, which can move the nodes’ sign changes by some weeks.
See also: Transits over your chart · Gochar (glossary) · Sade Sati · Ayanamsa · Sankranti
Understand
What gochar is
Gochar means the movement of the grahas: each moves on through the zodiac, and when it crosses from one rasi into the next, that is its sign change (sankramana). This page only says which graha is where, and when. In the classical method gochar is read by counting from a person’s natal Moon sign; to see today’s sky against your own chart, open the transits tool.
Retrograde (vakri) and direct (margi)
Seen from the Earth, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn now and then appear to move backward for a while. That is retrograde motion; the instant the graha stops and turns is a station, and moving forward again is turning direct. It is an effect of the Earth and the planet moving on their orbits at different speeds. The Sun and Moon are never retrograde; Rahu and Ketu (mean) always move backward.
Combustion (asta)
A graha very close to the Sun is lost in its glare; the texts call it asta (set), and its reappearance udaya (rising). The Surya Siddhanta gives a distance limit for each graha. The limits used here: Mangala 17°, Budha 14° (12° when retrograde), Guru 11°, Shukra 10° (8° when retrograde), Shani 15°. Almanacs leave out the asta periods of Guru and Shukra when choosing times for samskaras such as weddings.
Sidereal signs
Indian almanacs count the rasis against the stars (nirayana). Western (tropical) signs run about 24° ahead, so the dates printed there are about three weeks earlier than these. The ayanamsa used here is Lahiri.
How this is calculated
Each graha’s apparent geocentric position from NASA JPL’s DE421 ephemeris, less the Lahiri ayanamsa. The instants of crossing a rasi edge, of zero speed and of reaching the asta limit are found by bisection to under a second. Small differences in ayanamsa can move a slow graha’s time (Shani above all) by a few hours against other almanacs.
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