After watching Mars at its closest approach to the Earth on Wednesday night, Nizar Salem is eagerly awaiting viewing the phenomenon when the Red Planet and the Sun will be on directly opposite sides of Earth and Mars will be visible all through the night. Pointing at a small planet in the sky, the amateur astronomer said: "For you, it may look almost orange in colour due to reflection in the atmosphere, but as a regular observer I can confirm it as the Red Planet." On Wednesday night, Salem positioned his telescope on the roof of his house in Abu Dhabi towards the planet. It appeared bigger through the lens, an excited Salem said: "It is an unusual view. I used to wait hours in the desert to get a glimpse of this planet this clear." The head of the Emirates Mobile Astronomical Observer and a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences (AUASS) told Gulf News yesterday that Mars came closest to the earth at the UAE time 10.44pm. The phenomenon occurs every two years, but according to Nasa, the US space agency, Mars was supposed to look bigger than at any time between 2008 and 2012.For Further: gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/watch-mars-in-all-its-glory-tonight-1.575267
