Planetary transits in 2026

Position at 00:00 IST on 1 January 2026.

When does Jupiter change rāśi in 2026?

Jupiter enters Karka on 2 June at 01:50 and Siṃha on 31 October at 12:02 (IST).

When is Saturn retrograde in 2026?

Saturn is retrograde from 27 July to 11 December.

When is Mercury retrograde in 2026?

Mercury turns retrograde 3 times in 2026: from 26 February to 21 March (in Kumbha), from 29 June to 24 July (in Karka) and from 24 October to 13 November (in Tulā).

When do Rahu and Ketu change rāśi in 2026?

Rahu enters Makara and Ketu enters Karka on 5 December at 22:32 (IST).

When is Makar Sankranti in 2026?

The sidereal Sun enters Makara on 14 January 2026 at 15:07 IST — the astronomical moment of Makar Sankranti.

Why does another panchang show a different time?

Almanacs use slightly different values of the Lahiri ayanāṁśa. Drik Panchang's is about 18″ larger than the Swiss Ephemeris definition used here, so its time for the same event comes later: by 4–6 minutes for each of the Sun's twelve saṅkrāntis of 2026, and by 35 and 48 minutes for Jupiter's two ingresses that year. The date was the same in every case we checked. A slow graha moves so little in an hour that a few arcseconds of convention become many minutes — which is why the method is published next to every time. Stations are flat in the same way: around a retrograde or direct station a slow graha sits almost still for hours, so almanacs can differ by up to an hour on Saturn's (for Mercury we agree with Drik to within 2 minutes). Ours is the instant the apparent geocentric motion reverses.

Are these sidereal or tropical transits?

Sidereal, as in Jyotish — with the Lahiri ayanāṁśa, about 24° behind the tropical zodiac. Western tropical astrology places every graha about 24° further along, so its sign changes fall on different dates.