On January 16, the planet Mars will reach opposition, a celestial event where Mars and the Sun are positioned on opposite sides of Earth. During this period, Mars will be fully illuminated and at one of its closest approaches to Earth, making it appear significantly brighter and larger in the night sky.

According to the Department of Astrophysics at the Physics Faculty of Baku State University (BSU), Mars at opposition will be visible throughout the night, offering ideal conditions for observation both with a telescope and with the naked eye. On January 12 at 23:00, Mars will be approximately 96.079 million kilometers from Earth.

Mars’ close approach coincides with opposition, although there is often a slight delay of a few days due to the planet’s elliptical orbit. This time, Mars will have an apparent angular diameter of 14.6 arcseconds ("), and its brightness will reach a magnitude of -1.4, making it roughly 900 times brighter than the faintest star visible to the naked eye. From Baku, Mars will be visible from 18:30 to 07:41.

The Phenomenon of Greatest Opposition

The greatest opposition of Mars, a rarer event, occurs when Earth and Mars are at their closest possible distance. This alignment happens approximately once every 15–17 years, when Mars is at its closest point to the Sun (perihelion), and Earth simultaneously approaches Mars. During this event, the distance between the two planets is about 55 million kilometers.
At greatest opposition, Mars’ angular diameter increases to about 25.1", and its brightness reaches a magnitude of -2.9, making it the brightest object in the night sky after Venus. Under these conditions, key Martian features, such as polar caps, deserts, and albedo markings, are clearly visible through telescopes.

Recent and Upcoming Major Oppositions

•    August 27, 2003: Mars was just 55.7 million kilometers from Earth, marking the closest opposition in 60,000 years.
•    July 27, 2018: Mars approached Earth at a distance of 57.6 million kilometers.

The next major opposition is anticipated on September 15, 2035, when Mars will be approximately 56 million kilometers from Earth.