MARS CLOSEST MOVE

LOS ANGELES : Earth's neighboring planet, Mars, is closer than it has been in the past 15 years,    offering unusually bright views of the Red Planet's auburn hues.

''The Red Planet and Earth haven't been this close since 2003, and won't be again until 2045,''  according to NASA.

Astronomers around the world trained their telescopes on the sky on Tuesday, when the Red Planet  was 57.0 million kilometers away.

One popular public viewing spot was the Griffith  Observatory in Los Angeles where Mars was visible with naked eye as a bright orange spot on the sky, according to a  live broadcast  held to mark the celestial event.

'' Mars is invading us tonight,'' said observatory director Ed Krupp.

The nearest point to Earth in the planet's elliptical  orbit came at around 1100 GMT on Tuesday, Nasa said.

Astronomers are interested in Mars travel path because it helps decide the best times for  spacecraft  to launch.

When the Sun, Earth and Mars are lined up, with Earth sitting in between, a phenomenon called   ''opposition'' is in effect, giving the brightest view of Mars.

But also ''around the time of opposition, a planet is at its closest distance to Earth for a given year, " the US space agency explained.

Since the  Earth and  Mars align in opposition about every two years, ''this is why most  Nasa  missions to the  Red planet are at east two years apart - to take the advantage of the closer distance.''

This year's close approach is not a record breaker.

The minimum distance from from the Earth to Mars is about  54.6 million kilometers and is rarely achieved.

Another close encounter like 2003's will not happen until  the year 2287.

For those who missed the  closest approach, not to worry. Mars will still be visible in the  night sky  for the next  few months. [AFP]