Adding a little excitement to human lives that have been depressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has just stated that you can spot the red planet in the sky for the next 15 years now.
What's more joyful is you will be able to look at the planet despite the weather conditions. All you have to do is step out, gaze at the sky at midnight and you will get to see the beautiful red planet.
According to NASA, Mars will be closest to Earth, starting from October 6 until 2035.
"This is the time when Mars' orbit lies "at about 38.6 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from our planet," added NASA.
"Mars was visible for much of the night in the southern sky and at its highest point at about midnight," a Nasa wing said.
Mars will still be visible through October but will grow fainter as Mars and Earth travel farther away from each other in their orbits around the Sun.
"October is a great time for viewing Mars, as the planet is visible all night right now, and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight. This period of excellent visibility coincides with the event known as opposition, which occurs about every two years when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun," Nasa wrote in a skywatching guide.
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"This is also around the time when Mars and Earth come closest together in their orbits, meaning the Red Planet is at its brightest in the sky, so don't miss it," it further said.
"The minimum distance from Earth to Mars is about 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers). However, that doesn't happen very often," Nasa said.
"When Mars and Earth are close to each other, Mars appears very bright in our sky. It also makes it easier to see with telescopes or the naked eye. The Red Planet comes close enough for exceptional viewing only once or twice every 15 or 17 years," the space agency said.
Reportedly, the last time Mars was close to Earth was in 2018, but in 2003, the planets made a historic approach.
"On August 27, 2003, at 9:51 Universal Time (the time in Greenwich, England, Mars came closer to Earth, at about 55,758,006 km (34,646,418 miles) from center to center. That was the nearest the two planets have been in almost 60,000 years!," Nasa said.
How can you watch it?
To spot Mars from Earth, you will have to use binoculars or even a cell phone with a quality camera on it.