Mars brightest in 15 years

[retired jerry]

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/2304 ... -years.htm

July 31 Mars will be the brightest it's been in 15 years.

Every two years Earth is directly between Mars and the Sun so Mars appears especially bright, called Mars opposition.

Every 15 years Mars is also the closest to the sun, it's perihelion, so it's brighter than normal.

July 31 is a perihelic opposition - an opposition at perihelion.

It seemed brighter than normal a week ago. It's bright within a few days or even weeks of July 31.

The other thing is the moon is pretty full July 31. August 5 would be better, half full, rises after midnight.

[Webfoot]

Thank you for the reminder.

[drm]

The article says it will be visible for months, so the brightest would be probably be the nearest new moon to that perihelion.

[walrus]

Which is right about when the Perseids start....

[romann]

My last 2 camping trips, Mars was the brightest "star" in the sky (I pulled up Sky Map app on the phone to verify). Very easy to tell by yellow/orange hue vs white stars.

[Guy]

Marsrise from Mckenzie Pass - July 14 2018