Science / Medicine : Mars to Rival ‘Bright’ Jupiter in September

This year, Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in a generation, and astronomers say the Red Planet’s appearance in the night sky may be the astronomical event of 1988.

When Mars is closest on Sept. 21--just over 36 million miles away--it will rival Jupiter as the brightest object in the night sky after the moon and Venus.

“It won’t be this close again until 2003,” said Jack Horkheimer, executive director of the Space Transit Planetarium in Miami.

Unlike Halley’s and Kohoutek comets, Mars will not disappoint viewers, because its brightness is more predictable and the planet will be easily visible from almost everywhere, he said.

Although Earth passes Mars every two years, it is only every 15 to 17 years that the orbits of the third and fourth planets from the sun bring them as close together as in 1988. The year began with Earth and Mars separated by 200 million miles.