MARS WILL SHINE THE BRIGHTEST IT HAS BEEN IN 20 YEARS
On 6 October 2020, at 3.19pm BST, Mars was the closest to Earth's orbit and showcased a beautiful huge sighting for the first time in 20 years.
Nasa described the red planet's appearance as "effectively a 'full' Mars". On Tuesday, 13 October, Mars will come to "opposition". This means that it will rise at sunset, set at sunrise, and will be visible all through the night. It will shine brighter than it has since 2003. Mars reaches opposition every 26 months, which means that the Earth passes directly between the Sun and Mars.
However, October's opposition will be extra special due to the orbits of Earth and Mars, which will line up to be at their closest to each other. The next time the moon will appear like this will only be in 2035.
This opposition will be combined with a new moon, a supermoon, in the middle of the month. It will give both casual skygazers and seasoned astronomers a rare chance to view Mars at its most spectacular and closest.
An interest in Mars has recently increased right after scientists discovered multiple "water bodies" under the south pole of the planet. They believe this could be the key in the search for alien life, due to the fact that living organisms require liquid water to survive.
Not only will Mars be on its most spectacular in October, this month is also arguably the busiest month of 2020 in terms of near-Earth astronomical events.
Harvest Moon will be seen at the beginning of October followed up by a rare Blue Moon on Halloween, and the Orionid Meteor Shower is also active from 2 October until 7 November. The peak of the meteor shower is expected to be on the 21st of October, bringing with it "prolonged explosions of light", according to NASA.