The Red Planet will come to within 43.1 million miles of Earth in the early hours of Sunday, appearing as a brilliant fiery yellow point of light in the eastern sky. It will not be as near again until 2018.
The planet will be visible much higher in the night sky than on the last close approach, in August 2003, when &to=http://english.pravda.ru/society/2001/06/14/7641.html' target=_blank>Mars was just 34.6 million miles away. Its light will therefore be less interrupted by the Earth's atmosphere, providing a sharper, clearer image, informs Scotsman.
According to BBC News, with good conditions and a lack of cloud, amateur astronomers will be able to get an unusually good look at Mars. The Red Planet will not swing this close to &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/378/14269_aliens.html' target=_blank>Earth for another 13 years.
Small telescopes will be able to see Mars as a brilliant ball; observers with more powerful instruments will be able to see features on the surface.
The Red Planet, usually appearing more orange to us, gleams at magnitude –2.3, and through Nov. 29 will rank as the second-brightest planet, outshining even Jupiter. (On astronomers' magnitude scale, smaller numbers represent brighter objects; negative numbers are reserved for the brightest), reports MSNBC.
O.Ch.
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