What is an Equinox? | National Geographic

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Tropical and Sidereal Zodiac(Rashi)

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Tropical and sidereal zodiac (rashi) The tropical zodiac (Western) The zodiac used in the  Western system,  called the  tropical zodiac , is  no longer based on the stars . It  does not correspond to observable positions . The beginning of the tropical zodiac, 0° Aries, is identical with the vernal equinox, the place of the sun on the first day of spring, not with any fixed stars. The tropical zodiac is not based upon the stars but on the orientation of the earth to the sun. The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn denote the places of the sun at the summer and winter solstices. The tropical zodiac begins with the sun’s place at the vernal equinox, which it designates as the beginning of Aries 0°. It regards the position of the sun at the summer solstice as 0° Cancer. It regards the position of the sun at the autumnal equinox as 0° Libra. It regards the position of the sun at the winter solstice as 0° Capricorn. Thus, the  seasons  mark the cardinal points ...
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Makara Sankranti's Astronomical Significance

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Makara Sankranti is celebrated across the sacred lands of Bharata Varsha for many centuries. This celebration is also widely considered as an Agrarian festival. In our culture, this day has been a observation of obeisance to Sun and the soil, gratitude to divine intelligence and life energies, a celebration of abundance and the gifts of nature, ushering of spring, joyous harvest of pulses, cereals and crops and an elaborate offering to Devas from local produce. In this article we delve into understanding this celebration and its significance by answering some fundamental questions including – What is Makara? What is Sankaranti? What is the significance? In this process, we shall also see how nuanced the sciences of astronomy and mathematics thrived in Bharata. What is  Makara ? Owing to the rotation of Earth along its tilted axis, we see all celestial bodies rising in the East and setting in the West. This is termed as the diurnal motion. Also as the Earth revolves around the Sun, ...
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