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On August 27, 2003, Mars will come within 34,649,589 miles (about 56 milion km) of our world, a result of Jupiter's gravitational tug on Mars, and the changing nuances of the relative orbits of Earth and Mars.
No one alive today will ever experience an encounter with Mars as close as this again. The last time it happened was between 5,000 and 60,000 years ago. The next projected date is in 2287.
Astronomers call these close encounters "perihelic oppositions." Perihelic means Mars, moving on its elliptical orbit, is at its closest to the Sun. Opposition means that the Sun, Earth, and Mars are in a straight line with Earth in the middle. As a result, Mars and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky. When Mars is simultaneously at opposition and at perihelion it is very close to Earth.
Due to this closeness, Mars will be brighter than Jupiter, which is usually the brightest planet in our sky. Mars, with a magnitude of -2.9, will be second only to the Moon in brightness. It will be 25 arcseconds across (about twice what it was in June), and with binoculars it will look as big as the Moon does to the naked eye.
In addition, tomorrow, August 13th, the Red Planet will conjunct (appear closest to) the Moon, two days after a full moon. This will be a breathtaking sight.
Right now, the "Mars and Moon show" will be overhead about 11 PM. By the end of the month, Mars will reach its zenith (highest point) about 12:30 AM.
For more information see:
Discover
NASA
NASA, Mars Ice Melting
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