Mars will be visible to naked eye tonight, says Astronomy Ireland

The fourth planet from the sun will be visible to stargazers in Ireland tonight, even from well-lit cities.

According to Astronomy Ireland's David Moore, Mars will be visible "for several hours" this evening (Tues 3rd January), and people will be able to see it even without the use of telescopes and binoculars. In a statement, founder of Astronomy Ireland magazine said:

Mars is one of the brightest 'stars' in the sky as it was at its closest to Earth just a few weeks ago so it will be a spectacular sight to the naked eye all Tuesday evening as it blazes above the Moon. We don't want people to miss this spectacle of nature that can easily be seen with the naked eye even from brightly lit cities. This is one of the most amazing sights in the sky of the whole month and you do not need any telescopes or binoculars to see it so we want the whole country to enjoy this very bright sight from about 6pm on when the sky gets dark, for several hours.

https://twitter.com/AstronomyIRL/status/1610300878245724160?s=20&t=DvhW4Pj43hXjgSHdwnEKiA While Mars is twice as wide as the Moon, at 4,200 miles compared to the Moon's 2,160 mile diameter, it's also 240 times further away - sitting 97 million km away compared to the Moon which is just 0.4 million km from us. So a chance to see the Red Planet from Earth won't come around too often. So there you go. Once 6 o'clock hits get the deck chairs out, and maybe a flask of something warming, and see Mars dance with the Moon. Header image via Shutterstock READ NEXT: Daniel O'Donnell and Majella renew wedding vows after 'a wonderful 20 years of marriage'