Mars came closet to Earth on July 31

Mars, our celestial neighbour was visibly closer to Earth on July 31. It is a cosmic event that happens every 15 years. Well experts claim that the Red Planet has come first time this close to earth in the last 60,000 years. Mars has come closer to Earth in 2003, we will have to wait another 17 years for Mars to be closer, NASA says.

All of us have watched it from our naked eye how it has risen from the Gemini constellation

Mars reached the closest point to Earth in its orbit. This occurrence follows after the last weeks Mars event where the giant planet has reached opposite to the sun and remained at its brightest in the night sky through Tuesday night. According to NASA, Mars was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) from Earth at its closest point this morning. Mars won't approach any closer to Earth until September 2035, NASA officials said.

In August 2003, Mars was a smidge closer: 34.6 million miles (55.6 million km). Mars won't be that close to Earth until 2287, according to a NASA update. Mars will reach opposition again before then. In October 2020, the Red Planet will reach opposition and will be 38.6 million miles (62.1 million km) from Earth, according to NASA's update. Although, it’s the Mars' closest approach, the moon has still appeared 75 times larger than the Red Planet, while Mars appeared as an extremely bright, star-like object that was visible for much of the night.

Mars will become fainter by mid-August as the two planets orbit away from each other around the sun. So, while it won't remain this bright in the night sky for long, it will be brilliant long enough for everyone to take a look. Saturn also made a close approach to Earth this summer, and the ringed planet remains especially visible for anyone scouring the sky for the best sights. Mars make an exceptionally close approach to Earth again, the next close approach for the Red Planet will be on Oct. 6, 2020

How does this happen?

Each planet has its own orbit around the sun, and takes a fixed time to complete a revolution around it. But because the distance of each planet from the sun differs, the time taken by each planet to revolve around the star varies. Earth takes roughly a year (or 365.25 days, to be exact) to complete a revolution around the sun, while Mars does it in 1.88 years (approximately 687 days). Since the orbits of the two planets are of different lengths, they come close to each other once every two years. The last time Mars came close to Earth was in 2016.

Mars closet approach to Earth

Mars, our celestial neighbour was visibly closer to Earth on July 31. It is a cosmic event that happens every 15 years. Well experts claim that the Red Planet has come first time this close to earth in the last 60,000 years. Mars has come closer to Earth in 2003, we will have to wait another 17 years for Mars to be closer, NASA says.

All of us have watched it from our naked eye how it has risen from the Gemini constellation

Mars reached the closest point to Earth in its orbit. This occurrence follows after the last weeks Mars event where the giant planet has reached opposite to the sun and remained at its brightest in the night sky through Tuesday night. According to NASA, Mars was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) from Earth at its closest point this morning. Mars won't approach any closer to Earth until September 2035, NASA officials said.

In August 2003, Mars was a smidge closer: 34.6 million miles (55.6 million km). Mars won't be that close to Earth until 2287, according to a NASA update. Mars will reach opposition again before then. In October 2020, the Red Planet will reach opposition and will be 38.6 million miles (62.1 million km) from Earth, according to NASA's update. Although, it’s the Mars' closest approach, the moon has still appeared 75 times larger than the Red Planet, while Mars appeared as an extremely bright, star-like object that was visible for much of the night.

Mars will become fainter by mid-August as the two planets orbit away from each other around the sun. So, while it won't remain this bright in the night sky for long, it will be brilliant long enough for everyone to take a look. Saturn also made a close approach to Earth this summer, and the ringed planet remains especially visible for anyone scouring the sky for the best sights. Mars make an exceptionally close approach to Earth again, the next close approach for the Red Planet will be on Oct. 6, 2020

How does this happen?

Each planet has its own orbit around the sun, and takes a fixed time to complete a revolution around it. But because the distance of each planet from the sun differs, the time taken by each planet to revolve around the star varies. Earth takes roughly a year (or 365.25 days, to be exact) to complete a revolution around the sun, while Mars does it in 1.88 years (approximately 687 days). Since the orbits of the two planets are of different lengths, they come close to each other once every two years. The last time Mars came close to Earth was in 2016.