Earth is quickly approaching Mars! This only happens every 26 months including an odd couple days. It takes Mars 687 days to orbit one lap around the sun, while it takes Earth 365 days! This allows Earth to catch up with Mars. With our naked eye, we are able to see Mars on a clear night sky. The separation between the planets is 60 million kilometers. Each day that passes this upcoming week will show a very bright Mars until October 6th. Afterward, the planet will slowly dim as Earth passes by. The farthest away from Mars is about 390 million kilometers. This is when Mars is on the other side of the Sun.

Through a telescope, you will be able to see the planet in detail. It is dubbed the “red” planet; however, it is more orange than red. This is due to a large amount of rust produced by iron oxide that covers the Martian landscape. On the landscape, there are many giant volcanoes, canyons, and impact basins. 

There are other planets amongst us, Gary Boyle, an astronomy educator states that “In the western sky around 9 PM, you’ll see brilliant Jupiter, and from the left of that is Saturn, and Mars is even brighter than Jupiter now.”

It is predicted to see the red planet again in December 2022! Don’t wait two years to see the magnificent Mars. Get outside on October 6th to see this planet shine the brightest, along with the four other planets.