If you want to see Mars with your naked eye, be sure to stay up late TONIGHT! This does not happen very often so take advantage of this opportunity!
Tonight, January 12, 2012, and tomorrow night, the moon can be used to find Mars as it orbits one step beyond Earth's orbit so that it can be seen. Mars can be seen somewhere between 10-11p.m., on the eastern horizon. Tonight, the moon will rise first, and an hour later, Mars will follow. The opposite will happen tomorrow night- Mars will rise first, followed by the Moon. The Red Planet will be easy to spot because it will be the brightest object shining in the night sky. If you are an early bird instead of a night owl, Mars can be found by the Moon in the early morning hours before daybreak. As you can see in the picture above, Mars and Regulus (the brightest star in the constellation Leo), are both bright, but Mars outshines Regulus.
Mars is easily distinguished from Regulus in terms of colour. Mars looks orange, while Regulus looks blue-white. Binoculars are a great tool to help spot them if you are having trouble distinguishing which colour is which.
This is a photo of Mars, showing the largest canyon in the solar system called Valles Marineris.
Currently, Mars is located at the border of the constellations Leo and Virgo, right by a star called Denebola in Leo's constellation and will remain there for the rest of January 2012. Mars will move west starting January 24- April 15, 2012 and will be closer to Regulus by the end of this movement. In early March 2012, Mars will shine the brightest during this movement.
If you know the Big Dipper constellation well, locate its pointer stars and draw an imaginary line to Leo and Mars, as shown on the below chart. On June 21, 2912, Mars will leave Leo and enter Virgo.
The pointer stars of the Big Dipper directly point to Leo. Mars will remain in front of Leo until June 21.
In conclusion, starting tonight and for the next consecutive nights, Mars will be the brightest light near the moon. Mars can be seen late at night and early in the mornings, over the next few months as Mars turns the brightest in early March 2012!
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