Mars Accelerates!

The planet Mars is putting on a show as it brightens while on its closest approach journey to Earth on October 6. This will be its closest encounter since 2003. The Red Planet currently shines at magnitude -1.56, brighter than the brightest star in the sky Sirius. Mars is shown here through the fallen branches of a maple tree in Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, brought down by the recent derecho storm. The image looks SSE at 3:04 am CDT, Saturday, August 22, 2020, and is a 10 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 1000 and 18mm focal length. 93% humidity muddied up a bit the otherwise clear sky. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.