Mars to glow brightest: Here’s how to watch it in Dubai

Hurry, dust off those binoculars and telescopes and meet me in the backyard for some serious celestial action tonight.

Tonight, on March 5, 2012, Mars will be the closest to Earth in two years, or 687 days to be precise, which is as long as the rusty red planet takes to once orbit the sun. There will be only (astronomically speaking) a little over 100 million kilometres between Earth and Mars, allowing it to look the biggest and shine the brightest it ever does – even to the naked eye.

With the weather acting down a little today (notice the missing sand storm?), this is a perfect opportunity for UAE’s skygazers for an impromptu outdoor camping activity to watch the minion Mars (the only planet smaller than it is Mercury) at its brightest best.

In fact, the whole of March promises to be special, celestially speaking, with the dance of the planets and a gathering of asteroids. Even as Mars makes its closest approach of the year (two, actually) tonight, Venus and Jupiter continue to get nearer.

Click here for some strange Mars facts you might not know about

So, how can we in the UAE watch the brightly dressed-up Mars? Surprisingly, the planet will be visible through the naked eye although a good telescope should be able to offer you even surface details of the planet. Step outside tonight – or on any clear night until at least the next week – about half-an-hour after sunset (6.22pm today in Dubai and 6.27pm in Abu Dhabi) and look towards the east.

Mars is easy to spot as yellowish-orange light, shining brighter than anything else in that part of the night sky, except, of course, for the Moon. If, like us, you’re a novice stargazer and suspect that you might still have problems positively identifying Mars, then your best bet is to find it shining next to the full moon on March 7 – both rising in the east around sunset. By midnight, you can find Mars shining high in the south.

Click here for some strange Mars facts you might not know about

According to National geographic, the entire month of March, until end of April, is one’s best bet in terms of observing the Red Planet through a telescope as the planetary disk will be big enough under high magnification to catch surface details on it.

The last time Mars came this close to Earth was in February 2010, and the next time will be in April 2014.

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