SEE IT: Mars Is The Closest To Earth Than It Will Be For Next 15 Years
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Mars popped up on Tuesday evening, around 7:30 p.m., over the eastern horizon.
It rises in the sky as it appears to drift into the southern sky over the course of the night. The neat thing about Tuesday night, according to KDKA meteorologist Ray Petelin, is that Mars is as close to Earth as it will be for the next 15 years! The exact moment of this "close approach" is 10:18 p.m.
The distance between Earth and Mars will be 38.6 million miles. According to NASA, this close-up of Mars comes when that planet is at "opposition," which means Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, making Mars at its brightest while it is at its closest!
