Mars continued its eastward progress and crossed from Gemini, the twin, into Cancer, the crab. On the night of November 20, it will be joined in the night sky by a waxing gibbous moon.
The chart shows the view looking east from London at 23.00 GMT. As the night progresses into the early hours of the next morning, the pair will continue to rise higher in the sky.
The moon will be just over 20 days into its lunar month and will have 70% of its visible surface illuminated. Mars will also reflect sunlight and grow brighter night after night as Earth’s orbit brings it closer.
The closest approach between the two worlds will occur on January 25, 2025, when Earth will be 54m miles (87m km) from the red planet. However, this is not the closest they can get to each other. In 2003, Mars passed to within 34m miles of Earth. This was the closest approach for nearly 60,000 years.
From the southern hemisphere, the pairing of Mars and the moon will rise a few hours later at night, then follow an arcing path across the northern sky.
