Makara (month) month of Kumbha. The start of this month is almost always January 14, the day of the Makara Sankranti festival, and periodically the Kumbh Mela. The Makara month is called "Tai" in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Makara, just like they do with other months. For example, the "Surya Siddhanta" calculates the duration of Vrschika to be 29 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the "Arya Siddhanta" calculates the duration of the Vrschika month to be 29 days, 10 hours,
Lunar phase Moon is almost fully lit by the Sun. Often, the dark side of the Moon is dimly illuminated by indirect sunlight reflected from Earth, but is bright enough to be easily visible from Earth. This phenomenon is called earthshine and sometimes picturesquely described as "the old moon in the new moon's arms" or, as pictured here, "the new moon in the old moon's arms". The Gregorian calendar month, which is of a tropical year, is about 30.44 days, while the cycle of lunar phases (the Moon's synodic period) repeats every 29.53 days on average. Therefore, the timing of the lunar