They wrote that the red planet will be a majestic sight all month long, whether those interested admire it with the naked eye or examine its surface features with a telescope.

They also pointed out that the next time the celestial body will be able to be admired in its same splendor will be in 2029.

They highlighted that the Svábhegyi Observatory is preparing numerous programs in January and February so that as many people as possible can admire the details of the planet through a telescope.

Planets orbiting outside the Earth's orbit have a special position called opposition, where the planet is on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun, or "opposite the Sun".

Since the celestial body's closest approach to Earth falls around opposition, it appears brightest at this time and has the largest diameter in a telescope, so this is when we can best observe the red planet, which rises at sunset and sets at sunrise, so it is clearly visible throughout the evening and night, they explained in the statement.

They also mentioned that during the Mars opposition cycle, the really big oppositions occur every 15-17 years. They added that there are 6-7 oppositions in the cycle, of which 2-3 can be considered big and 3-4 can be considered small oppositions due to the elliptical shape of the Mars orbit.

They wrote that the planet's current closest approach to Earth will be on January 12, and its current small opposition will be on January 16.

On January 12, the planet Mars will be a great sight in the night sky. It will be pleasantly high, 25 degrees above the eastern horizon at 7 p.m., and will be nearly 67 degrees above the horizon after midnight.

On that day, the red planet will be almost as bright as the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, and will be visible below the brightest star in the constellation Gemini, Pollux, about 20 degrees below the nearly full Moon.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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