27 August 2003 sees Mars at its closest to Earth for almost 60,000 years.
But don't worry, Armageddon is not upon us!
Mars will still be 34,646,418 miles away and Venus is regularly much closer without posing a threat.
What's all the excitement about?
Mars takes 687 days to travel around the sun, while the Earth speeds around in 365 days. The excitement stems from the fact that as the orbits of Earth and Mars are elliptical, approximately every 26 months a celestial rendez-vous takes place (an opposition), which on 27 August will be the closest since our ancestors were living in caves. The next time the two planets will be close will be in 2287 - who knows, we may even take that chance to wave to our nearest neighbours...
When and where to look
Mars is currently in the constellation of Aquarius, and is already the brightest object in the sky. National Astronomy Week say, to get a good view, you will still need a telescope with a magnification of about 40 and even then it will still look pretty small - like looking at an orange with the naked eye across the length of a tennis court - but a record is a record!
The Royal Astronomical Society say that between 23 and 30 August, Mars will rise at about 9pm BST and it should be high enough to observe by 10.30pm as a bright red-orange object in the southeast.
What are the best viewing weather conditions?
If you'd like to see Olympus Mons or decide whether the 'Face' is simply a trick of the light, clear dark skies are a must, unless of course you can find a way above the clouds.
BBC Broadcast Meteorologist Alex Deakin took part in the All Night Star Party at Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory in Cheshire shown on BBC TWO on Saturday 23 August 2003. He gives us some tips to get the best view of Mars and when star gazing in general.
"The climatological statistics in the British Isles indicate that eastern areas have less cloud than western areas and that the south is generally less windy than the north. This suggests that the best conditions for viewing a stable image most frequently will be in the southeast."
"However this is not taking into account other factors, the southeast has more light pollution and generally the air quality here is worse too, which can interfere with the quality of the viewing."
"The skies are more likely to be cloud free in summer than in winter, but of course in winter the nights are longer so if you can stand the chill you've still got a good chance of the skies clearing at some point."
"Mars is going to be pretty large in the night sky for a few months so at some point we will all be able to see it. Just stay tuned to the forecasts for the clear evenings."
"This week is actually looking quite promising with high pressure keeping things largely dry across the UK and with a high chance of cloud free evenings."
"Final tip - just after the passage of a cold front the skies are usually clear and the air is pretty clean - this is often the best time for searching the night sky."
Related Articles:
- BBCi - Weather - Mars weather
- BBCi - Space
- National Astronomy Week
- Royal Astronomical Society
