Prepare yourself to see the red planet up close and personal in the sky this month. Mars will be at its brightest since 2003,
The Red Planet is just about to reach the part of its orbit called opposition, where it is exactly opposite the sun in Earth's sky. This year, it will also herald Earth's closest view of Mars in 15 years. Earth and Mars orbit the sun at different distances. Because Earth is closer to the sun, it orbits faster than Mars. Once every two years (or thereabouts), the sun.
Opposition this year will happen on July 27, with the closest approach of Mars on 3:50 a.m. EDT (0750 GMT) on July 31. Mars will be bright in the sky — its brightest since 2003, when it came to its closest distance to Earth in nearly 60,000 years.
