Mars Opposition: Appears Big and Bright at night!

On May 30,Mars is at its biggest and brightest in over a decade as Mars will come within 47 million miles of Earth, as it comes into a particularly close opposition. Mars will shine 80 times brighter than it does. Mars opposition happens every two years but its very quick to notice.

Because Mars is directly opposite the sun, the red planet will rise as the sun sets, and set as the sun rises. Beginning around sunset, it will be visible in the east. It will move to its highest peak around midnight before setting to the west around sunrise in the morning.

According to NASA, on that date Mars will be at a distance of 75.3 million kilometres away from Earth — the closest it has been to our planet since 2003.