Mars in 2022
Opposition for Mars will fall at 6 UTC on December 8, 2022 (midnight CST on the night of December 7-8).
How to see Mars in the sky: At opposition – as Earth flies between Mars and the sun, placing Mars opposite the sun in our sky – Mars rises in the east at sunset, reach its highest point around midnight and sets at dawn. How can you recognize it? For one thing, it’s brighter than even the brightest stars. And it’s noticeably red in color. But, there’s an even better way to identify Mars on the night of December 7-8. That night, Mars is not only at opposition, but also near December’s full moon. If you look and don’t see Mars near the moon, that might be because the moon is in front of Mars! Read about the December 7-8 occultation of Mars.
Mars was closest to Earth at 2 UTC on December 1, 2022 (8 p.m. CST on November 30). At its closest, Mars was 4.5 light-minutes from Earth.
At opposition in 2022, Mars’ constellation is in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull.
Its opposition brightness is magnitude -1.9 (maximum brightness for 2022). At this point, although Mars is brighter than all the stars, it still won’t be as as bright as Venus or Jupiter.
Through a telescope, at opposition, Mars will appear 17.01 arcseconds across. Major features on Mars will show surface coloration, plus Mars’ white polar cap will be visible.
Note: Mars reaches opposition only about every 26 months. This 2022 opposition is very special because – as seen from around the world – the moon will appear near Mars in the sky. From some locations, including parts of North America and Europe, the moon pass in front of Mars on the same night as opposition, December 7-8.
Read: Moon occults Mars on December 7-8
Read: December full moon mimics the June sun
Where to watch Mars opposition and occultation online
Finder chart
View from above the solar system, December 2022
Sometimes, Mars is faint
Mars was in our evening sky for much of 2021. But, around October, the red planet disappeared from our sky for a time. Its superior conjunction – when it was most directly behind the sun as seen from Earth – was October 8, 2021. Then, some weeks afterwards – as both Earth and Mars moved in their respective orbits around the sun – Mars returned to our sky as a faint red dot in the east before sunrise. To be sure, it remained inconspicuous throughout the early months of 2022.
Sometimes, Mars is bright
Mars steadily brightened in the first half of 2022, first as a morning object. But later, during the second half of 2022, Mars shines as a bright red ruby in the evening sky. Ultimately, it’ll reach opposition – when Earth will fly between Mars and the sun – on December 8, 2022.
Indeed, Mars’ dramatic swings in brightness (and its red color) are why the early stargazers named Mars for their God of War.
Sometimes the war god rests. And sometimes he grows fierce! In fact, these changes are part of the reason Mars is so fascinating to watch in the night sky.
Want to follow Mars? Bookmark EarthSky’s monthly night sky guide.
Mars isn’t very big
To understand why Mars varies so much in brightness in Earth’s sky, first realize that Mars isn’t a very big world. Indeed, it’s only 4,219 miles (6,790 km) in diameter, making it only slightly more than half Earth’s size (7,922 miles or 12,750 km in diameter).
On the other hand, consider Mars in contrast to Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is 86,881 miles (140,000 km) in diameter. As an illustration, more than 20 planets the size of Mars could be lined up side by side in front of Jupiter. Basically, Jupiter always looks bright, because it’s so big.
Not so for little Mars, however. Rather, its extremes in brightness have to do with its nearness (or lack of nearness) to Earth.
Future Martian oppositions
So, when is the next opposition of Mars? The next time Mars will appear at its brightest for that two-year period in our sky? You guessed it. In January 2025! Check out the chart on this page that lists all oppositions of Mars from 1995 to 2037.
Seeing red
Mars appears as a reddish light in the sky and, therefore, is often called the red planet. Mars is currently near two obvious red stars in the sky, reddish-orange Aldebaran and the famous red supergiant Betelgeuse. So, it’ll be fun to compare Mars’ color and intensity of red with that of Aldebaran or Betelgeuse.
Surface temperature is what determines star colors. The hottest stars are blue; the coolest stars are red. In fact, from hottest to coolest, the colors of stars range from blue, white, yellow, orange and red. And while the colors of stars might be hard to detect, some stars – like Aldebaran and Betelgeuse – are noticeably colorful.
Iron oxide
On the other hand, Mars appears red for a different reason. It’s red because of iron oxide in the dust that covers this desert world. Iron oxide gives rust and blood its red color. Rovers on Mars sampled the Martian dust and determined it contains three colors: reds, browns and oranges. So those three colors are what you may see when you gaze upon Mars.
Do you see red when you look at Mars, Aldebaran and Betelgeuse? Are they the same color? Do you see any other colors of stars?
Bottom line: Mars has brightened throughout 2022 as it draws near its opposition on December 8. Plus, the moon will occult – pass in front of – Mars on December 7-8.
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