Starwatch: Mars at its brightest, closest to Earth and in conjunction with moon

The red planet is only about 60m miles away and will also be directly opposite the sun for maximum light

It's all about Mars this week. The planet is at its closest approach to Earth for the next two years and will experience a close conjunction with the moon at the same time as drawing opposite to the sun in the sky.

Like a runner on the inside track, Earth laps Mars every two years or so, and this is currently happening. On 12 January, the two planets were at their closest, separated by only 59.7m miles (96.1m kilometres).