Mars At Its Closest August 27, 2003, At 2:51 a.m. PDT / 5:51 a.m. EDT.

Mars At Its Closest August 27, 2003,
At 2:51 a.m. PDT / 5:51 a.m. EDT.

This week, Mars rises at 6:30 p.m. PDT / 9:30 p.m. EDT in the southeastern sky as it approaches what is known as "Mars opposition." Like a full moon, the red planet will be facing the Earth (opposition) and opposite the Sun on August 28, 2003. Mars will have reached its closest approach to the Earth in 60,000 years the day before on August 27 - only 34,650,000 miles away.