Mars in contrast - this week it is at the closest point to the Earth (relatively, of course)

Although not 60 million km like in 2003, but in the current cycle, a distance of 92 million km also makes Mars a bright and prominent object in the sky

As happens once every two and two months, Mars and Earth are getting closer, and the distance between them is shortening by 300 km per minute. When the distance between them reaches its minimum size for this cycle, they will be 92 million kilometers apart, a short distance in solar system terms.

Astronomers call this a "Mars opposition" because Mars and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky. Mars will rise in the east when the sun sets in the west, and will be almost overhead at midnight, being 10 times brighter than a magnitude 1 star. Astrologers can say what they want about contrast and significance. In everything related to astronomers who represent today's science - the only meaning is: a beautiful sight, go look.

An opposition of Mars occurs every 26 months, with one of the most famous being the opposition of August 27, 2003, when the planets came within less than 60 million km of each other, and Mars was bright and its contours could be seen in medium-powered telescopes, but For some reason the flawed claim that Mars will appear as big as the Moon (when they forgot to mention that you need a 70x magnification telescope for that) continued to hang around the internet every summer.

In one of the contrasts in the 19th century, the astronomer Percival Lovell wrote that "Mars shines against the background of space, and is brighter than Sirius, and even rivals Jupiter itself."

There are two important dates this week:

•   April 8 - the day of opposition when Mars, the Earth and the Sun line up in an almost straight line. If the orbits of Mars and Earth were perfect circles, the 8th of April would also be the date of their approach, but the orbits of the planets are elliptical, so the actual date of approach would be a week late.
•  On April 14, Earth and Mars will reach a distance of 92 million km, the same distance that the space probes fly to Mars in a little over six months. There would be no problem locating Mars that night. The full moon will hover above the red planet in the constellation Virgo, and will serve as a kind of landmark in the midnight sky.

By a rare coincidence there will be a total lunar eclipse that night (which will not be visible from Israel). Fortunately, in East Asia and the Americas, the moon will appear as red as Mars.

Beyond these dates, any clear night in April will provide a good view of Mars. Mars will be easy to spot with the naked eye even from the center of the illuminated cities. With the help of a simple amateur telescope it will be possible to see the dusty disk of Mars and the evaporating ice cap at the North Pole, which has been facing the sun since the reddish summer began in February. Experienced astrophotographers with advanced cameras can even try their luck at observing more subtle events on Mars such as dust storms, high clouds above the reddening volcanoes and ice fogs in the large impact crater Las Vegas, one of the most beautiful sights in the solar system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=palCcw9IBR8

For information on the NASA website