By IANS,
New Delhi : Watch out for Mars shining brightly in the sky around midnight Monday, as the red planet will be closest to the Earth.
Nowadays, you can see a bright red dot in the winter skies in the east a few hours after sunset, which is the planet Mars.
On Sunday, Mars will be at opposition and on Monday, it will be closest to the Earth.
A planet is said to be “in opposition” when it is opposite to the Sun as seen from the Earth. At that time, the Sun, the Earth and the planet are in one line.
“Mars outshines every star in the night sky and draws attention to itself with its distinctive red colour. It will shine high in the sky around midnight, rising to the east shortly after sunset,” said C.B. Bhushan Devgun of SPACE (Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators).
Though this can be seen with the naked eye, more accurate observations will always require a place away from city lights and the use of telescopes or binoculars.