Mars is not only the planet humans seem most obsessed with, it is one of the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Its glowing red surface stands out against the pale twinkling of stars around it. It’s an alluring sight any time you get to see it, but October 2020 is an outstanding time to look at the red planet from your own backyard.
This month, Mars will shine brighter than at any other point in the year, and it will be larger in our sky than it will be again for almost 15 years. To be precise, Mars will be closest to Earth, starting from October 6 until 2035.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), this is the time when Mars’ orbit lies “at about 38.6 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from our planet”.
Mars will be visible through October, but will become fainter as Mars and Earth travel farther away from each other in their orbits around the Sun.
“October is a great time for viewing Mars, as the planet is visible all night right now, and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight. This period of excellent visibility coincides with the event known as opposition, which occurs about every two years, when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun,” Nasa wrote in a skywatching guide.
When Mars hits opposition, a point when Earth sits directly between the Sun and Mars. That’s when Mars will be at its absolute brightest point for the year, rising at sunset and remaining up until sunrise.
Moreover, the red planet will be shockingly bright all the month. In fact, it will be the fourth-brightest object in the sky behind the Sun, moon and Venus, the morning star.
One can watch from Earth using a binoculars and even a cell phone with quality camera on it. Get out there and admire the big red guy in the sky.
