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Panchang · Gochar · Budha (Mercury)

Budha gochar in 2002

Budha changes sign 12 times in 2002: Kumbha on 8 Mar, Meena on 26 Mar, Mesha on 10 Apr, Vrishabha on 26 Apr …. Retrograde from 19 Jan, 16 May, 15 Sep.

Times in Janakpur (Asia/Kathmandu, UTC+5:45).

Budha’s signs through 2002

  1. Makara31 Dec, 3:26 am 2001 → 8 Mar, 1:49 am 2002· about 2 months
  2. Kumbha8 Mar, 1:49 am 2002 → 26 Mar, 1:19 pm 2002· 18 days
  3. Meena26 Mar, 1:19 pm 2002 → 10 Apr, 5:52 pm 2002· 15 days
  4. Mesha10 Apr, 5:52 pm 2002 → 26 Apr, 6:05 am 2002· 16 days
  5. Vrishabha26 Apr, 6:05 am 2002 → 4 Jul, 5:34 am 2002· about 2 months
  6. Mithuna4 Jul, 5:34 am 2002 → 19 Jul, 7:37 am 2002· 15 days
  7. Karka19 Jul, 7:37 am 2002 → 3 Aug, 5:22 am 2002· 15 days
  8. Simha3 Aug, 5:22 am 2002 → 22 Aug, 5:34 am 2002· 19 days
  9. Kanya22 Aug, 5:34 am 2002 → 28 Oct, 12:35 pm 2002· about 2 months
  10. Tula28 Oct, 12:35 pm 2002 → 15 Nov, 8:30 pm 2002· 18 days
  11. Vrishchika15 Nov, 8:30 pm 2002 → 5 Dec, 2:29 am 2002· 19 days
  12. Dhanu5 Dec, 2:29 am 2002 → 26 Dec, 7:14 am 2002· 21 days
  13. Makara26 Dec, 7:14 am 2002 → 9 Jan, 11:12 pm 2003· 15 days

Date by date

Times in Janakpur (Asia/Kathmandu, UTC+5:45).

January 2002

  • 19 Jan2:34 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 20°36′ Makara

  • 22 Jan2:07 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 2 Feb†

February 2002

  • 2 Feb2:49 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 8 Feb11:13 pm

    Budha turns direct at 4°45′ Makara

March 2002

  • 8 Mar1:49 am

    Budha enters Kumbha

  • 23 Mar12:12 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 20 Apr†

  • 26 Mar1:19 pm

    Budha enters Meena

April 2002

  • 10 Apr5:52 pm

    Budha enters Mesha

  • 20 Apr4:55 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 26 Apr6:05 am

    Budha enters Vrishabha

May 2002

  • 16 May12:34 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 16°06′ Vrishabha

  • 19 May12:21 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 4 Jun†

June 2002

  • 4 Jun10:58 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 8 Jun8:57 pm

    Budha turns direct at 7°28′ Vrishabha

July 2002

  • 4 Jul5:34 am

    Budha enters Mithuna

  • 8 Jul9:45 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 3 Aug†

  • 19 Jul7:37 am

    Budha enters Karka

August 2002

  • 3 Aug5:22 am

    Budha enters Simha

  • 3 Aug10:00 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 22 Aug5:34 am

    Budha enters Kanya

September 2002

  • 15 Sep1:22 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 19°21′ Kanya

  • 21 Sep11:17 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 4 Oct†

October 2002

  • 4 Oct12:40 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 7 Oct1:11 am

    Budha turns direct at 4°26′ Kanya

  • 23 Oct2:10 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 10 Dec†

  • 28 Oct12:35 pm

    Budha enters Tula

November 2002

  • 15 Nov8:30 pm

    Budha enters Vrishchika

December 2002

  • 5 Dec2:29 am

    Budha enters Dhanu

  • 10 Dec5:05 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 26 Dec7:14 am

    Budha enters Makara

† Practice varies. Budha is counted asta within 14° (12° when retrograde) of the Sun (Surya Siddhanta); some almanacs use another limit or a visibility rule.

See also: Budha (glossary) · Gochar 2002: all grahas · Transits over your chart

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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