Close encounters of the Martian kind are coming, beginning with the waning hours of Mon., July 30, leading into the best view of the Red Planet at 2:51 a.m. on July 31. For a few hours, Mars will be only 35.78 million miles from Earth.
That perspective won’t come again, by telescope or the naked eye, until Aug. 28, 2287 – almost 270 years from now. (Stargazers had a slightly closer look at Mars in the late summer of 2003.)
Members of the Texas Astronomical Society will bring their best telescopes to the campus of Brookhaven College so that students and members of the general public can participate in the free 2018 Mars Close Encounter event.
Info: Charles “Chaz” Hafey, chafey@dcccd.edu or Huey Stevens at tasobserving@gmail.com.
More info about the Mars Event:
https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/mars-close-approach/
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-is-mars-sometimes-bright-an...
