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Panchang · Gochar · Budha (Mercury)

Budha gochar in 2009

Budha changes sign 17 times in 2009: Dhanu on 27 Jan (moving back, retrograde), Makara on 8 Feb, Kumbha on 5 Mar, Meena on 23 Mar …. Retrograde from 12 Jan, 7 May, 7 Sep, 27 Dec.

Times in Lautoka (Pacific/Fiji, UTC+12/UTC+13).

Budha’s signs through 2009

  1. Makara28 Dec, 12:15 pm 2008 → 27 Jan, 3:32 am 2009· 30 days
  2. Dhanu(entered moving backward)27 Jan, 3:32 am 2009 → 8 Feb, 4:14 am 2009· 12 days
  3. Makara8 Feb, 4:14 am 2009 → 5 Mar, 10:03 am 2009· 25 days
  4. Kumbha5 Mar, 10:03 am 2009 → 23 Mar, 4:01 am 2009· 18 days
  5. Meena23 Mar, 4:01 am 2009 → 7 Apr, 3:47 am 2009· 15 days
  6. Mesha7 Apr, 3:47 am 2009 → 24 Apr, 12:06 pm 2009· 17 days
  7. Vrishabha24 Apr, 12:06 pm 2009 → 25 May, 10:03 pm 2009· 31 days
  8. Mesha(entered moving backward)25 May, 10:03 pm 2009 → 6 Jun, 12:46 am 2009· 11 days
  9. Vrishabha6 Jun, 12:46 am 2009 → 1 Jul, 5:03 am 2009· 25 days
  10. Mithuna1 Jul, 5:03 am 2009 → 15 Jul, 2:49 pm 2009· 14 days
  11. Karka15 Jul, 2:49 pm 2009 → 30 Jul, 10:15 pm 2009· 15 days
  12. Simha30 Jul, 10:15 pm 2009 → 20 Aug, 11:43 am 2009· 21 days
  13. Kanya20 Aug, 11:43 am 2009 → 24 Sep, 2:57 pm 2009· 35 days
  14. Simha(entered moving backward)24 Sep, 2:57 pm 2009 → 5 Oct, 10:05 am 2009· 11 days
  15. Kanya5 Oct, 10:05 am 2009 → 25 Oct, 8:40 am 2009· 20 days
  16. Tula25 Oct, 8:40 am 2009 → 12 Nov, 4:31 pm 2009· 18 days
  17. Vrishchika12 Nov, 4:31 pm 2009 → 2 Dec, 5:25 am 2009· 19 days
  18. Dhanu2 Dec, 5:25 am 2009 → 6 Feb, 12:35 pm 2010· about 2 months

Date by date

Times in Lautoka (Pacific/Fiji, UTC+12/UTC+13).

January 2009

  • 12 Jan4:43 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 13°47′ Makara

  • 15 Jan8:01 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 26 Jan†

  • 26 Jan4:40 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 27 Jan3:32 am

    Budha enters Dhanu (moving backward)

February 2009

  • 1 Feb7:10 pm

    Budha turns direct at 27°46′ Dhanu

  • 8 Feb4:14 am

    Budha enters Makara

March 2009

  • 5 Mar10:03 am

    Budha enters Kumbha

  • 15 Mar9:24 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 14 Apr†

  • 23 Mar4:01 am

    Budha enters Meena

April 2009

  • 7 Apr3:47 am

    Budha enters Mesha

  • 14 Apr1:20 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 24 Apr12:06 pm

    Budha enters Vrishabha

May 2009

  • 7 May4:59 pm

    Budha turns retrograde at 7°46′ Vrishabha

  • 10 May10:50 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 27 May†

  • 25 May10:03 pm

    Budha enters Mesha (moving backward)

  • 27 May4:25 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 31 May1:22 pm

    Budha turns direct at 28°53′ Mesha

June 2009

  • 6 Jun12:46 am

    Budha enters Vrishabha

July 2009

  • 1 Jul5:03 am

    Budha enters Mithuna

  • 2 Jul7:37 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 27 Jul†

  • 15 Jul2:49 pm

    Budha enters Karka

  • 27 Jul8:00 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 30 Jul10:15 pm

    Budha enters Simha

August 2009

  • 20 Aug11:43 am

    Budha enters Kanya

September 2009

  • 7 Sep4:44 pm

    Budha turns retrograde at 12°14′ Kanya

  • 14 Sep5:57 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 27 Sep†

  • 24 Sep2:57 pm

    Budha enters Simha (moving backward)

  • 27 Sep2:16 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 30 Sep1:13 am

    Budha turns direct at 27°37′ Simha

October 2009

  • 5 Oct10:05 am

    Budha enters Kanya

  • 16 Oct3:00 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 1 Dec†

  • 25 Oct8:40 am

    Budha enters Tula

November 2009

  • 12 Nov4:31 pm

    Budha enters Vrishchika

December 2009

  • 1 Dec10:55 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 2 Dec5:25 am

    Budha enters Dhanu

  • 27 Dec3:37 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 27°48′ Dhanu

  • 30 Dec4:49 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 10 Jan†

† 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 2009: 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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