How you can see Mars at its closest since 2003

To leave at around 22 h. Tuesday and look to the southeast. There you will find a bright red object in the sky: Mars. And it's the closest since 2003.

See Mars in the night sky allows to have a fantastic view. And because of its relative (comparatively) proximity, it is much brighter than normal – about five times brighter, in fact.

Although you do not need binoculars or a telescope to see it, a close-up is an additional treatment. And fortunately, there are places that the public can see through a telescope to see the red planet in detail.

Mars experienced a planetary dust storm that obscured much of its details. But there is good news: on Thursday, NASA announced that it was the "beginning of the end" of the global storm; more details appear as dust settles.

If you have a pair of binoculars, you can take a look at Mars, but do not expect to see this detail: you will probably just see a bright red circle. But look at Mars and then another bright star: Mars will appear as a disc compared to a star that "sparkles" more.

But looking through a telescope, you will probably see dark spots and other features. If you hope to have the chance to do so, contact local astronomical groups or universities to see what they have at their disposal.

Here are some of them:

• Toronto: March Extravaganza York U: July 25 to August 1, 9 pm AND midnight
• Calgary: March Night! Rothney Astrophysical Observatory 2200 MT at 1 am
• Edmonton: Telus World of Science, Observatory of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
• St. John's: March Day, 2 pm NT at 4 pm and 10 pm to 12 pm, Signal Hill

How far is it from?

On July 31, Earth and Mars will be 57.6 million kilometers apart. In 2003, the pair was 55.8 million kilometers apart. Although this does not seem so close, keep in mind: Mars and Earth can be as far apart as 400 million kilometers.

And ignore the "Mars will be as big as the full moon". This will not be the case and it will never be the case. If that were the case, it would change the orbit of our planet and cause extreme tides. Bye-bye, Earth.

So be assured that Mars, though close, is safe in its own orbit, at an average distance of 225 million kilometers.