Mars will be brighter than it was nearly 20 years ago

Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in more than two years this month, reaching its point of encounter in the night sky.

NASA has effectively described the appearance of the red planet as a “complete” Mars, providing the best opportunity to view our neighbor’s planet in nearly 20 years.

On Tuesday, October 13th, Mars will shine brighter than it has been since 2003 and won’t appear like this again until 2035.

Mars reaches its resistance level every 26 months, which means Earth passes directly between the Sun and Mars.

The October opposition would be very special because the orbits of Earth and Mars are aligned to be as close as possible to each other.

The astronomical phenomenon will see Mars rise with sunset, and sunset with sunrise.

Together with the new “giant” moon in the middle of the month, it will give both sky-observers and seasoned astronomers a rare opportunity to witness Mars in its most spectacular form.

With the naked eye, Mars will appear brighter and more distinguished in the night sky, while using a telescope it will be easier to spot features such as polar caps and volcanoes.

The researchers said the discovery could be the key in the search for alien life, where organisms require liquid water to stay alive.

October is arguably the busiest month of 2020 in terms of near-Earth astronomical events.

Full moon end of the month, with Moon harvest At the beginning of October a rare blue moon followed on Halloween.

The Orionid meteor shower It is also active from October 2 to November 7, with “long bursts of light”, according to NASA.

The peak of the meteor showers is expected on October 21, although there will be strong shows for several days.

The US space agency said 2020 will see an unusually large meteor peak – commonly referred to as a “ meteorite ” – with up to 20 meteors occurring per hour.

Several apps and websites offer ways to track celestial events, including Sky View and Star Chart.