A brighter point than ever shines in the sky but it’s not a star, it’s Mars at opposition, we can’t miss it

Mars king of the sky on January 16th: The Red PlanetAlready visible to the naked eye however (weather permitting), it will be at opposition, at maximum brightness and at minimum distance from Earth, giving us an unforgettable show.

As INAF explainsthe opposition is an alignment of the planet (in this case Mars) with the Sun and the Earth, with the latter interposed between the two. For this to happen at night the first must be beyond Earth’s orbitwhich in fact will take place on January 16th. And in this situation the planet offers the better observation conditions since it is at the minimum distance from Earth and remains visible throughout the night.

This will be the case for Mars on January 16th, visible throughout the night, at its maximum brightness and minimum distance from Earthwhich on this occasion will be approximately 96 million km (on the map the sky of January 16, 2025 at approximately 7.00 pm).

Attention! Mars is so bright only every two yearslet’s not miss the show!

Sources: Uai / EarthSky / EarthSky/Youtube