Mars promising night sky viewings this month

The planet Mars will outshine almost everything else in the sky this month as it travels near Earth on its spin around the sun.

Amateur astronomer Darren Enns explains this encounter only happens about every 26 months. He says the red planet will appear brightest on Tuesday, but will remain a beacon for many weeks after.

"If you have a clear view of the eastern horizon, you should be able to see Mars almost directly east around 8:00 p.m.," Enns says.

"It will continue to climb to its highest point in the southern sky around 2 a.m. the next day and will be comfortably visible at about 45 degrees elevation, which is halfway between the horizon and straight up. If you want to catch it in the morning instead, check above the western horizon around 6 a.m."

Enns adds this isn't the closest that Mars has come to Earth -- he says that happened in 2006 when the two planets were the closest they'd been in the last 60,000 years.

The next close encounter between Mars and Earth will happen in December 2022.