Mars

In the eastern sky, there’s a bright, distinctly red point of light that emerges soon after sunset. You’ve probably guessed it—it’s Mars! This year, Mars is particularly bright for good reason. On January 16, 2025, it will reach opposition, the best time to see it in over three years.

What is Opposition?

Mars, Sun, Earth

Opposition happens when Mars, Earth, and the Sun align, with Earth in the middle. This means Mars rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west, staying visible all night long. During opposition, Earth is closer to Mars than at almost any other time, making the Red Planet appear bigger and brighter in our skies.

This alignment will be extra special in 2025 because Mars will make its closest approach to Earth just days earlier on January 12, when it will be a mere 59.7 million miles away. That’s close enough to see its surface features through a decent telescope!

Why Does Mars Shine So Brightly?

To understand why Mars is so bright during opposition, let’s talk distances. Astronomers measure distances in Astronomical Units (AU), where 1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Mars is typically about 1.7 AU from the Sun, or 70% farther from the Sun than Earth is. But during opposition, Mars comes as close as 0.7 AU to Earth. To put that in perspective: if Earth is a grain of sand 10 yards from the Sun, Mars at opposition is only 7 yards away, compared to its usual 27 yards on the opposite side of the Sun.

The result? A brighter, closer, and more spectacular Mars lighting up the night sky!

What Can You See?

Stargazers getting ready to see Mars

Even with the naked eye, Mars will glow as a fiery red point of light, brighter than most stars. Through a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, you can make out its disk, setting it apart from nearby red stars like Aldebaran in Taurus or Betelgeuse in Orion. With a quality telescope, you might spot Mars’ southern polar ice cap and surface markings like the massive Valles Marineris canyon or the towering Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System.

If you’re lucky and have a good telescope, you might even glimpse its two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are thought to be captured asteroids. To do this you will need to block out the brightness of mars the best way to do this is put mars just off the edge of the field of view in your telescope and look around it for the faint moons.

The Full Moon Occults Mars

Adding to the excitement, on the night of January 13–14, the Full Wolf Moon will occult Mars. This means the Moon will pass in front of Mars, briefly blocking it from view before it reemerges. This rare alignment offers a fantastic opportunity to observe Mars’ brightness juxtaposed against the Moon’s glow. Through a telescope, you might even catch Mars peeking through lunar valleys before it fully reappears.

Mars in Myth and Science

Mars has fascinated humanity for millennia. Ancient civilizations associated its red color with war and bloodshed, inspiring its Roman name after the god of war. In the early 20th century, astronomer Percival Lowell fueled speculation about life on Mars with his observations of so-called canals. Though these turned out to be illusions, they inspired generations of science fiction writers to imagine Mars as a world teeming with life.

Today, Mars remains a source of fascination—not for canals, but for its massive volcanoes, deep canyons, and potential for past or present microbial life. Missions like NASA’s Perseverance rover continue to explore the planet, bringing us closer to understanding its secrets.

How to Observe Mars in 2025

• Naked Eye: Look to the east after sunset to spot Mars as a bright red point of light.
• Binoculars: Mars will appear as a small, steady disk of light.
• Telescope: A telescope with at least 200x magnification can reveal Mars’ polar ice caps, surface markings, and possibly its moons.

For those in Colorado, AstroTours.org will be hosting stargazing events during Mars’ opposition, where you can see the Red Planet through professional telescopes and learn about its wonders from expert astronomers.

Mars’ opposition is a reminder of our place in the cosmos, a moment to pause and reflect as we gaze at the ancient, rust-colored world glowing above us. Whether you’re in Boulder or anywhere else on Earth, step outside this January and let Mars inspire you.

For more information about Mars at opposition, check out this article by Jamie Carter: Mars Opposition 2025: How to See the Red Planet at Its Biggest and Brightest.

Want to learn more about my journey into astronomy? Read my story here: An Astronomer’s Journey: My Path to the Stars.