Mars will pass 38.5 million miles from Earth on Mars, which will be the closest approach to the Red Planet until 2035.
The planet is visible throughout the month of October, rising to the east every evening and to the west shortly after dawn.
In 2003, Mars passed 34.65 million miles into Earth – its closest approach in nearly 60,000 years. The red planet will not pass back until 2287 within 34.65 million miles of Earth.
“Simply go outside and look up, depending on your local weather and lighting conditions, you can see Mars,” NASA said.
Oct. 13, marking Mars’ opposition between Mars and the Sun.
“This period of optimal visibility coincides with an event called resistance, which occurs more than every two years, when Mars is directly opposite the Earth from the Sun,” says NASA. “This is also the time when Mars and Earth come very close in their orbits, which means the red planet has its brightest in the sky, so don’t miss it.”
You can see it with a telescope or even the naked eye. Afternoon is the best time to see the evening.
Although Mars is expected to reach Earth at the same distance in 2022, NASA experts say it is not clear due to the elliptical orbits and gravitational pull on both planets. The next best opportunity is 2035.
