There is now less than a month to go until Mars reaches “Opposition” and will be at its closest to us, and at its brightest in the sky, for two years, writes Stuart Atkinson.

In mid-October Mars will rise at sunset and shine brightly in the sky all through the night, looking like a vivid orange star in the sky, brighter than anything else in that sky apart from the Sun and Moon. It will be a striking, spectacular sight, especially from somewhere with a dark sky that is not ruined by light pollution. But you can see it already. On the next clear night, go out around 9pm, look to the east, and you’ll see what looks like a bright orange “star” above the horizon in that direction. That’s it, that’s Mars, the famous “Red Planet”. It’s so bright it’s easily visible to the naked eye even from the middle of a town, surrounded by streetlights and the floodlights illuminating pubs, hotels and shops. If you have binoculars they will enhance its brightness and colour, but if you want to see the dark features and bright ice caps on its surface you’ll need a telescope.

If you get a chance to see Mars over the coming week you’ll be struck by how bright it is. But it will be so much brighter in October - something to really look forward to. Having found Mars, look over to its right and you’ll see two more planets low in the southern part of the sky. These are Jupiter, on the right, and Saturn, to its upper left. Both are fainter than Mars but still bright enough.