If you haven’t noticed already, Mars is making itself noticed in the southeast after sunset. Mars reaches opposition in October when in its roughly 26 month orbit around the Sun, it appears on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. Mars’ orbit is elliptical like most of the planets and about every 10 years this coincides with it being closest to the Earth. Mars will be brighter than Jupiter for most of the month. It will also appear much larger than normal. Through binoculars or a small telescope you should be able to see the southern polar ice cap and maybe make out some of the larger features. I hope to capture some photos with a new planetary camera if the rain will ever let up. Check out this link for more details.

The night sky is actually pretty busy this month. The crescent moon and Venus will be snuggling up on the morning of the13th and the Orionids meteor shower will have a weak peak mid-month.