NPR

Celestial Lineup Makes For A Very Bright Mars

Mars, Earth and the sun have lined up, a celestial orientation known as opposition. This particular opposition occurs at a time when the orbit of Mars takes it closest to the sun.
When Mars is "in opposition," it, Earth and the sun are all in alignment. <em>(Note: This is a diagram meant to illustrate the concept of opposition. It is not drawn to scale.)</em>

Every two years or so, the sun, Earth and Mars line up — and that's what is happening now. It's a celestial orientation known as Mars opposition. Leaving aside any significance this, from an astronomical point of view there's one thing you can say for sure about this Mars opposition: Mars will be brighter in the night sky than it's been for 15 years.

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