The Lunar Mansion or Nakshatra

We all know that the Moon is a constant companion of our planet- Earth. In fact, the Moon is the only  natural satellite of  the Earth. It is continuously orbiting Earth in an elliptical orbit at an angle of

5 degrees from the imaginary plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun also called as Ecliptic plane. Due to this tilt, we can’t see a solar eclipse on every New Moon day and a lunar eclipse on every Full Moon day . Moon orbits Earth in about 27.3  days.

“Our celestial sphere is divided into 88 modern constellations out of these there are 12 zodiacs and 27 Nakshatras or Lunar Mansions” 

This is called a Sidereal month. To understand it easily, we consider the orbiting period of the Moon around the Earth is 28 days. Since the Moon orbits Earth in 28 days, it revolves  360 degrees around the Earth during this period. Hence, it must travel 12.85 degrees per day around the Earth. Since moon travels approximately 13 degrees per day in the sky  as observed from the Earth,  we see moon rise at different time and in different location on the Celestial Sphere each day. If we observe moon's path and it’s location on the celestial Sphere daily, we will find different group of stars around the moon. These group of stars are called “Constellations”. We can define a constellation as a group of bright stars which makes a recognisable shape or pattern. Our celestial sphere is divided into 88 modern constellations out of these there are 12 zodiacs and 27 Nakshatras or Lunar Mansions.

 Zodiacs are the constellations found on the solar ecliptic or the apparent path of the sun around the Earth mostly resembling shapes of animals  while Nakshatras are the constellations found on the lunar path. Each day moon stays in one Nakshatra and  it moves to a different Nakshatra the  next day. In this way, there are 27 nakshatras which are found in a narrow belt around the earth called the  lunar orbit or lunar path.

In the next blog,  we will discuss about the mythological aspect of the Nakshatras. 

Be with  us to feed your curiosity. 

Stay Curious!