BANGKOK, 6 March 2012 – Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 26 months last night, attracting astronomers and people from all walks of life who watched the spectacular phenomenon in awe.
It happens once in every 2 years that the Mars comes so close to the orbit of the Earth that it is visible, at its biggest and brightest, through the naked eye as well as through a telescope. Mars, the red planet, is approximately 100 million kilometers away from the Earth.
With clear sky throughout the night, observers could see Mars, which was 17 times brighter than usual. The planet appears reddish-orange owing to the presence of iron oxide on its surface.
The phenomenon will occur again on April 14th, 2014. Mars orbits around the Sun, keeping the distance of 57-376 million kilometers from the Earth.
