It's cloudy here in Oregon (shocked, aren't you?), but if you can see the night sky tonight, you should look to the east-northeast for Mars. It's been in the sky for a while now, bright and reddish, but tonight is it's closest approach to earth in this cycle. If you have a telescope its a good time to get that thing out, dust it off and take a gander.
From spaceweather.com:
Tonight, Mars is closer to Earth than it will be again for another 13 years. You can see it rising in the east after sunset. It looks like an intense pumpkin-colored star. By 9 o'clock, it's pretty high in the sky; and at midnight it shines down from almost overhead.
If you miss Mars tonight, don't worry. It will remain close to Earth for a few weeks. You have plenty more chances to see it. Halloween might be a good time to try. If you're out Trick or Treating on Monday, why not look up at Mars?
And by the way - if you're interested in getting email and/or phone call updates about things like space"weather," sightings of space bodies, satellites and the space station, and a variety of other space-related event news, check out Spaceweather PHONE, which provides that service for a small fee.
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