Stargazers are in for a treat this evening with Mars set to be visible next to the full Moon from dawn until dusk.
Danielle Wilcox, Resident Astronomer at the Blackrock Observatory in Cork, said the 'red planet' will be easy to spot without the need for a telescope if it is a clear night.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said other planets are also visible at this time of year, including Saturn and Jupiter.
She said stargazers will be able to spot Mars from around 9pm this evening.
"But you will see Jupiter first," she explained.
"You are going to want to look towards the east where the moon is coming up and the south for Jupiter and if you go a little bit further towards the south west you will spot Saturn."
Mars comes close to Earth roughly every 2.1 years and will be "exceptionally bright to the naked eye" this evening, according to David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.
He said people should look east from around 7pm when Mars and the Moon will be rising, adding that it will likely be visible until well after midnight.
Mars is due to pass even closer to the Moon next month and will pass behind the Moon on the morning of 8 December.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
