Don't forget to wave hello to Mars!

So Mars is currently in opposition which makes this an excellent opportunity to take a look at the night sky and wave hello to our red neighbour. It was closest to Earth on the 27th, at only 99 million kilometers, but it will still look basically the same until some time later next week.

You will be able to see it just next to the Moon as it shines really brightly in its rust red colour. You don't need a telescope, but if you have some binoculars handy grab those! Your next chance will be in 2014. Read more about the whole spectacle at Mars Daily.

This is what it looked like last night here in Saitama. Even with the cloud cover and all the light pollution there was no mistaking that red dot. And surprisingly I managed to snap this with my crappy little 5 megapixel pocket camera. Weee!

Speaking of Mars I thought I'd share this as well. I found it somewhere a while back and I really like how it manages to make a boring chart into something much more appealing!