Question 1

Why does this need my birth time, when other readings don't?

Accepted Answer

The Moon moves through more than one full Nakshatra's 13.33-degree span within a single day. Two people born on the same date, hours apart, can genuinely have different Nakshatras - so a date-only calculation would frequently be wrong, not just imprecise.

Question 2

Is this real astronomy, or symbolic?

Accepted Answer

Real astronomy for the Moon's position (via a tested astronomy library, not a symbolic formula), converted to the sidereal zodiac via the Lahiri ayanamsa - the same standard used in most Vedic astrology practice, adopted officially by the Government of India.

Question 3

How accurate is the calculation?

Accepted Answer

The ayanamsa uses a linear approximation from a well-documented reference point, not full precession-and-nutation modeling used by professional ephemeris software - close enough for Nakshatra-level accuracy in the vast majority of cases, disclosed directly rather than overstated.

Where was the Moon when you arrived?