On Wednesday (Nov. 30), Mars will make its closest approach to Earth, appearing larger and brighter than usual in the sky and offering skywatchers an excellent opportunity to observe the Red Planet.
While Mars approaching, known as a perigee, the planet will become visible around 5:43 p.m. EST (2243 GMT) in New York City when it reaches an elevation of 7 degrees above the horizon in the northeast, according to In the air (opens in new tab). (If you hold your fist at arm’s length, the width of your fist corresponds to about ten degrees in the air.)
The Red Planet will reach its highest point, 74 degrees above the southern horizon, at 12:29 a.m. EST (0529 GMT) on December 1 before disappearing in the light of dawn around 6:38 a.m. EST (1138 GMT) as it stationary 14 degrees above the horizon to the west.
The Virtual Telescope Project is organizing a live stream of Mars at perigee on Wednesday (November 30) starting at 3:00 PM EST (2000 GMT) on the YouTube channel of the website.
Read more: Night sky, November 2022: what you can see tonight [maps]
During perigee, Mars will be in the zodiac sign Taurus, the bull, and will have a magnitude of -1.8. (The minus prefix indicates a particularly bright object in the night sky.)
During this close approach, Mars will pass within 0.54 astronautic units (AU) of our planet. One AU is equal to the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 93 million miles (about 150 million kilometers). Mars orbits the sun at an average distance of 1.5 AU, reaching a distance of 2.6 AU at its apogee (the furthest distance from Earth). The planet’s variation between perigee and apogee is the largest in the solar system, according to InTheSky (opens in new tab).
Mars reaches perigee when its orbit takes it past Earth and forms a line with the sun with our planet at the center. This means that Mars appears almost opposite the sun in the sky above the Earth during perigee.
When Mars is directly opposite the sun, it is described as in opposition, and this astronomical alignment and perigee usually happen within a few days of each other. They are not simultaneous because Mars has an oblate or elliptical orbit.
While about 50 million miles may not sound very close, Mars is one of Earth’s closest neighbors in the solar systemmeaning the perigee is enough to have a pronounced effect on how the Red Planet is seen from our planet.
Despite Mars coming close to Earth on Wednesday, this perigee won’t be the closest the Red Planet has ever been able to get to our planet. Closest Mars could theoretically getting to Earth is 33.9 million miles (54.6 million km).
This has not yet happened, at least in recorded history, and the closest the two planets have come together since measurements began is 34.8 million miles (56 million km) in August 2003.
NASA says Mars and Earth won’t get as close as this again for another 215 years, when they get super close again in 2237.
Editor’s note: If you take a photo of Mars as it approaches and would like to share it with Space.com readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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