Mars at opposition, 4 May 2031

Mars reaches opposition on 4 May 2031 around 11:37 UTC: the Sun, Earth and the planet line up, with the planet opposite the Sun, so it is visible all night. It is also closest to Earth, about 0.56 astronomical units (84 million km) away.

Visibility from Hungary (calculated for Budapest): the best moment to observe is 5 May 2031, 00:22 CEST: the target stands 27° high in the south, under a dark sky. The calculation is for Budapest; elsewhere in the country rise and set times differ by only a few minutes.

In the page's interactive 3D model the time machine jumps to this moment (4 May 2031) and the camera takes the view that fits the event: a close-up of the planet. You can freely scrub time forwards and backwards.

Planet positions come from our own approximate calculation (about 0.1-1° accuracy, times within a few hours).