PETALING JAYA: The “Red planet” Mars will position itself opposite the sun and align with Earth once again, starting from Thursday (Jan 16), following a similar event that occurred on Dec 8, 2022.
Local astronomy sources say the phenomenon, which takes place every 26 months also known as ‘istiqbal’, will have the sun completely illuminate Mars, Kosmo reported.
“In this incident, an image of Mars can be seen clearly from Earth if comparing it to when it was positioned elsewhere,” the source was quoted as saying.
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On January 4, the Malaysian Space Agency (Mysa) in a social media post announced the phenomenon to the public.
In the government agency’s post, it is said that the event, also known as ‘istiqbal’, refers to the planetary position opposite the sun, referring to the Earth.
The post also confirmed that the planet will be visible from Earth from January until July.
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