Our moon practically bumps into Mars tonight. Mars may be at its brightest, but the moon's light may easily overpower anything celestial that approaches too close to it. See if you can discern Mars' bright glow next to the moon. Binoculars may help. Remember, Mars' diameter is twice that of the moon, but it lies 230 times farther away. Therefore, it appears starlike, while the moon appears, well, moonlike.
On Christmas Eve, Mars reaches opposition relative to the Earth and sun. It will rise at sunset, and set at sunrise. In otherwords, it is on the opposite side of the sky as the sun.
Over the next month, Mars will be the brightest object (next to the moon) in our evening sky. Only Venus, which rises about 4:30 a.m., outshines the Red Planet.
Such is our view from Earth...
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