Behold Mars! Red Planet Closest and Brightest Until 2035
Mars leaves a bright glitter path on Lake Superior near Duluth, Minn. on a recent night. Bob King All eyes are on Mars this week. On Oct. 6 it will reach it's minimum distance from Earth of 38.6 million miles (62.1 million km) and shine incredibly bright, besting even mighty Jupiter. The two planets won't be this close again nor will Mars be as brilliant until September 2035. A week later on Oct. 13 Earth and Mars will be at opposition, precisely lined up together on the same side of the sun and only slightly less close. When the faster Earth laps Mars every couple years, the two planets come closest and Mars is said to be at opposition . It lies directly opposite the sun in the sky — rising at sunset and setting at sunrise — and remains visible all night. Due to Mars's more strongly elliptical orbit (see below) some oppositions, like the current one, are closer than others. The closest are called perihelic while distant ones are aphelic. NASA Earth is the faster orbiting