Kolkata: If you miss sighting Mars in the South Eastern sky past twilight on August 27, you will be missing something because this happens once in several thousand years.

The red planet, that has come closest to earth in over 60,000 years, is burning bright for a fortnight now, but would be at its scarlet best through August 27 night till dawn.

At a distance of only 55.8 million kms away from Earth, this rare cosmic rendezvous would be captured through thousands of telescopes across the globe by professional and amateur sky gazers hoping to gather crucial data on Earth's enigmatic neighbour.

"This would be an opportunity of a lifetime," says director of the Positional Astronomy Centre (PAC) B K Mandal. "Not only would it give us the thrill associated with a rare celestial phenomenon, but would answer very deep questions perturbing mankind for hundreds of years."

Armed with two telescopes – a six-inch and the other 11-inch – a core team of PAC astrophysicists would make the most of the night. But they are keeping their fingers crossed for a clear sky.

"The Martian surface is a sky gazer's delight. We are praying that the sky remains cloud free," Mandal says.

During the great "opposition" of Mars, as the phenomenon is called in astrophysical terms, one should look for a brilliant beacon shining with a steady ochre glow in the South Eastern sky, two hours after local sunset.

A sight to behold, Mars would not twinkle and would outshine any other celestial object on August 27 night, says senior scientist of the M P Birla Planetarium Dr Debiprosad Duari.

PTI