Mars will be opposing the Earth today (March 5), forming a straight line with the Sun and allowing astronomy fans to view spectacular images of the Red Planet, which will be visible by naked eye on the night sky. Mars and Earth's orbits align every 26 months, bringing the two planets closest together. The two planets will be at a distance of 100 million kilometers from each other today (March 5). In 2003, Mars was at 56 million kilometers from Earth, the smallest distance between the two planets in the last 60,000 years.

Romanians too will be able to watch the red Mars – either by naked eye if the sky is clear, online, using the Slooh astronomy platform or by telescope at the Bucharest Observatory (Amiral Ursuleanu St., close to Romana Square; they have guides who speak English)

Those watching the sky should look for Mars rising at East, about the same time the Sun will be go down at West. Mars will shine brighter than all the stars in the Lion constellation and should be visible by naked eye. Using a medium telecope, astronomers will be able to see the ice caps on Mars' poles, as well as some elements on the planet's surface. During this time of the year, Mars is the fourth-brightest star-like object to light up the night at this time, after the planets Venus and Jupiter, and the star Sirius.

editor@romania-insider.com