Seymour Menjou

Simply go outside and look up and, depending on your local weather and lighting conditions, you should be able to see Mars.

Mars Close Approach: Dec. 1, 2022

That is the point in Mars' orbit when it comes closest to Earth – in 2022, it was about 50.6 million miles (81.5 million kilometers) from our planet.

Mars remains visible in the weeks following close approach, but becomes fainter as Mars and Earth travel farther away from each other in their orbits around the Sun.

This time of better Mars viewing opportunities can coincide with opposition, when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. This lineup happens about every two years. This is usually when Mars is at its brightest, so go out and take a look!

Close Approach is when Mars and Earth come nearest to each other in their orbits around the sun. Close is a relative term. The minimum distance from Earth to Mars is about 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers). However, that doesn't happen very often.

If Earth and Mars had perfectly circular orbits, their minimum distance would always be the same. However, they have elliptical (egg-shaped) paths.

In addition, gravitational tugging by planets constantly changes the shape of their orbits a little bit. Giant Jupiter especially influences the orbit of Mars.

The orbits of Mars and Earth are also slightly tilted with respect to each other.

All these factors mean that not all close encounters are equal. In 2003, Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years! It won't be that close again until the year 2287.

When Mars and Earth are close to each other, Mars appears very bright in our sky. It is also easier to see with telescopes or the naked eye. The Red Planet comes close enough for exceptional viewing only once or twice every 15 or 17 years.

However, don't be fooled by the Mars Hoax! Since 2003, this urban legend has been circulated through email and social media every time Mars makes a close approach.

The false message of the urban legend is that Mars will look as big as the Moon in our night sky. If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our Moon!

Mars Close Approach happens about every 26 months. It is closely related to Mars Opposition and Mars Retrograde.

Since Mars and Earth are at their closest, it's generally the best time to go to Mars. Many Mars missions have taken advantage of the close distance to visit the Red Planet. That's why, depending on budgets, you'll often see that Mars missions launch about every two years:

Archived Content 2003 and 2005 ›

Missed seeing the latest Mars Close Approach? Keep an eye out for the Red Planet at some of these upcoming opportunities:

Cairns

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