See Mars at Its Biggest and Brightest in a Decade
Here’s how to get prime views of the red planet as it gets the closest it’s been to Earth since 2005.
Get ready to explore Mars right from your backyard. The red planet is about to swing the closest it has come to Earth since November 2005. And around the same time, sky-watchers will also be able to see our neighboring world at its brightest for the year.
At exactly 6 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. UT) on May 22, Mars will reach what astronomers call opposition. This is when the sun, Earth, and Mars are aligned in a straight path so that Mars appears to rise in the east just as the sun sets in the west, making the sunlit side of the planet visible all night long.
Mars also makes its closest approach to Earth on May 30, coming just 46.7
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