The websites on the so-called "Vedic" Astronomy and "Vedic"
Astrology are a big suspect and often these mislead the browsers
on crucial issues! You are right in raising the doubt regarding the
Makara Sankranti on Jan 14,2013 (around the same date or the next day
during this century). Classical Indian astronomy adopted "sidereal
zodiac", a fixed zodiac, while the western astronomy changed over to
the tropical zodiac which is moving one. While the vernal equinox is
the beginning of the latter, a fixed star is the first point of Mesha.
The first point of Aries moves continuously backward
(precedes) currently at the rate of about 50.25 arcseconds per year
due to
the phenomenon of "precession of equinoxes". In some year (285 C.E.
according to the Calendar Reform Committee Report, Govt. of India)
the first point of the moving tropical zodiac coincided with that of
the fixed (Indian) sidereal zodiac. Since then the difference between
them is increasing at
the above mentioned annual rate of precession - this accumulated
precession of equinoxes is called "Ayanamsha". GOI in its Rashtriya
Panchanga
has adopted this value as : (True ) 24 deg, 02' 34" and (Mean) 24 deg,
02' 19" as on Jan 01,2013.
According to Indian sidereal ("nirayana") reckoning the Sun
entered the Makara raashi on Jan 14 this year while the solar ingress
into (saayana, tropical)
Capricorn (i.e. the true tropical long.=270 deg) around Dec 21,2012.
In fact that day of winter solstice is the "uttaraayna punyakaala"
when the sun changes its
course to the northern from the erstwhile southern one, having reached
the extreme south declination (kraanti) of about 23 deg 26'.
While it is right to celebrate "Makara Sankraanti" around Jan
14, it is fully incorrect to consider that day as that of "Uttaraayana
Punyakaala".
Of course, the two events coincided for the same date some 1500 years
ago! So I feel there is no confusion in this matter. My objection is
against
using the epithet "Vedic" to earn legitimacy and sanctity for every
dubious claim!