Mars Opposition: When the Red Planet will be most visible in the night sky (photos)

In January 2025, Mars will come closer to Earth than it has since 2022, marking a significant opposition of the Red Planet. This period presents not only the best opportunity to observe Mars at its brightest but also an ideal time for launching space missions, reports Space.

Every 789 days, Mars, Earth, and the Sun align in a straight line, a phenomenon known as opposition. Opposition occurs when Earth is positioned between the Sun and Mars. Unlike the nearly annual oppositions of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the situation with Mars is a bit different.

The reason is that Earth and Mars are relatively close to each other. Earth completes its orbit around the Sun in 365 days, whereas Mars takes 687 days. Consequently, Earth passes between Mars and the Sun every 789 days, or a little over every 2 years. At this point, the two planets are at their closest distance.

During opposition, Mars is optimally illuminated by the Sun, making it highly visible from Earth. For instance, with a small telescope, you can observe the planet's main features: the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, the vast canyons of Valles Marineris, and the southern polar ice cap of Mars. However, even without telescopes, Mars can be easily seen in the night sky with the naked eye.

The opposition of Mars will occur on January 12, 2025, although Mars will already be bright enough for observation three days prior. On this day, Mars will approach Earth at its closest distance since 2022, with a separation of 96,084,099 km. The Red Planet will shine brighter than it has since 2022, appearing in the night sky as a bright red point of light, dominating the celestial view.

However, astronomers note that the 2025 opposition of Mars may not be particularly remarkable. This is because it will not be a perihelion opposition, where Mars is at its closest point to the Sun when it approaches Earth. During such oppositions, Mars appears as a larger point of light and shines even more brightly. Perihelion oppositions of Mars occur only once every 15–17 years. The last one took place in 2018, with the next one expected in 2033.

The optimal time for Mars space missions is just before the planet reaches opposition, as this is when the flight to the Red Planet takes the least amount of time.

Although the opposition of Mars will take place in January 2025, the Red Planet will remain visible in the night sky for much of the following year until November. The next opposition of Mars will occur on February 19, 2027.