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Images have emerged showing the rare spectacle that is the moon and Mars gliding side by side.
Taking place last night (October 2), the Red Planet was making its closest approach to Earth in years and the pair remained close in the night sky.
It’s also not too late to see Mars because on October 6 it will be as close to Earth as ever, which means that until around October 9 you may be able to see it.
Earth will pass between Mars and the Sun, an event that occurs approximately every 26 months and brings Mars closer to Earth.
According to MailOnline, the glow my Mars emits won’t be seen for 15 years. That brings us to 2035.
At its closest, Mars is about 38.57 million miles (62.07 million km) away on October 6 at 2:00 p.m. UTC.
18 hours agoFor the west coast of the US and Canada, the closest approach to Mars occurs before sunrise on October 6, 2020, at 7 a.m. PDT, 6 a.m. Alaska time, and 4 a.m. Hawaii time. This makes it 2pm GMT (UK).
In 2003, Mars was closer to Earth than it had been in 60,000 years, and now it’s only slightly further away than that. According to EarthSky, on August 27, 2003, Mars was 34.65 million miles (55.76 million kilometers) away. Mars will not exceed its 2003 performance until August 28, 2287, when the red planet will be 55.69 million kilometers (34.60 miles) away.
So put it on the calendar now for your kids, kids, kids, kids … or something like that.
If all of this doesn’t satisfy the astronomer within you, then October 8 and 9 could be on your street because these will be the days for optimal meteor shower viewing, according to timeanddate.com. It will be one of the few meteor showers you can see at a reasonable time, rather than in the middle of the night.
EarthSky said the best way to look at it is to find a ‘dark, open, country sky’, adding: “As a wise person once said, meteor showers are like fishing. You go and sometimes you catch something.” .
