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Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years giving space enthusiasts a once in a lifetime viewing.
The last time Mars came this close to Earth, our ancestors were living in caves and struggling to make basic tools out of rocks.
A mere 60,000 years later, thousands of people around the world will use a vast array of high-tech digital and optical equipment on Wednesday to observe the "red planet" as it passes.
At 0951 GMT, Mars will pass just 55.76 million km (34.65 million miles) close to Earth, making it the closest encounter between the two planets since the Stone Age.
If you miss it this time enthusiasts will have to wait 284 years for another such close encounter.
Some of the best viewing will be in the southern hemisphere, especially from isolated tiny South Pacific islands like Tahiti, thought to be the closest point on Earth to Mars, and outback Australia, where a lack of pollution from city lights means Mars will shine bright red in the night sky.
"Mars will be the brightest object in the sky except for the moon and its reddish colour will make it easy to find," said Nick Lomb, Sydney Observatory's curator of astronomy.
"Telescopes, even small ones, will allow you to see detail on Mars, including a polar cap and other surface features."
Mars will appear to be about the same size as a mid-sized crater on the moon to those looking with the naked eye.
Hope that life exists, or at least existed, on Mars still persists. Recent Nasa probes have sent back images suggesting water once flowed on or near the Martian surface.
Water is seen as a prerequisite for life on other planets.
On Monday, Nasa selected the low-cost Phoenix probe as the first so-called Scout mission to Mars. Phoenix is expected to land on Mars in late 2008.
Well i'm interested anyway
The last time Mars came this close to Earth, our ancestors were living in caves and struggling to make basic tools out of rocks.
A mere 60,000 years later, thousands of people around the world will use a vast array of high-tech digital and optical equipment on Wednesday to observe the "red planet" as it passes.
At 0951 GMT, Mars will pass just 55.76 million km (34.65 million miles) close to Earth, making it the closest encounter between the two planets since the Stone Age.
If you miss it this time enthusiasts will have to wait 284 years for another such close encounter.
Some of the best viewing will be in the southern hemisphere, especially from isolated tiny South Pacific islands like Tahiti, thought to be the closest point on Earth to Mars, and outback Australia, where a lack of pollution from city lights means Mars will shine bright red in the night sky.
"Mars will be the brightest object in the sky except for the moon and its reddish colour will make it easy to find," said Nick Lomb, Sydney Observatory's curator of astronomy.
"Telescopes, even small ones, will allow you to see detail on Mars, including a polar cap and other surface features."
Mars will appear to be about the same size as a mid-sized crater on the moon to those looking with the naked eye.
Hope that life exists, or at least existed, on Mars still persists. Recent Nasa probes have sent back images suggesting water once flowed on or near the Martian surface.
Water is seen as a prerequisite for life on other planets.
On Monday, Nasa selected the low-cost Phoenix probe as the first so-called Scout mission to Mars. Phoenix is expected to land on Mars in late 2008.
Well i'm interested anyway
