Mars 2027

The 2027 apparition of Mars will occur between the conjunctions of Mars with the Sun on January 9, 2026, and the consequent one on March 21, 2028. During this apparition, Mars will come into Opposition on February 19, 2027 in the constellation Leo. This time, this is to happen very close to the planet's aphelion, and consequently classified as an aphelic apparition. In consequence, it will not come very close: Closest approach will occur one day after opposition, on February 20, 2027, when the planet will come moderately close at 0.67792 AU (101.4 million km). Mars' apparent diameter will reach a mere 13.81", and brightness will peak at just -1.21 mag. Aphelion will be passed on March 4, only about 2 weeks later. During opposition, Earth will appear about 20 deg North of the Celestial Equator of Mars, so that the planets's limb will have a central latitude of about 20 deg North; observers from Earth will have best possible view of the North Polar Cap (NPC).

As usual, this apparition provides an opportunity for spacecraft mission to Mars. One pair of spacecraft is already waiting for its interplanetary cruise to the planet in parking orbit around Earth's Lagrange point L2: EscaPADE is a mission consisiting of a pair of small orbiter spacecraft, "Blue" and "Gold", launched by New Glenn rocket on November 13, 2025, still in the previous apparition (2025) period. It is scheduled to arrive at Mars and enter Mars orbit in later 2027. Also scheduled, for launch in 2026, is Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), an international mission launched by H3 rocket and operated by JAXA of Japan, with contributions from Germany and France; this mission is to explore the climate of Mars and focus on the moons of Mars, with an attempted sample return from Phobos and a small Phobos rover, Idefix. There is also a proposed commercial Mission to Mars by the American companies Relativity Space and Impulse Space.

Chronology of the 2027 Mars Apparition

Jan 9, 2026
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Sagittarius. Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars. Distance 360 million km (2.4038 AU), apparent diameter 3.896", brightness +1.16 mag. This conjunction, which also ends the 2025 apparition of Mars, starts the 2027 apparition of Mars.
Jan 23, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Sagittarius and enters Capricornus.
Feb 16, 2026
Moon occults Mars.
Feb 27, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Capricornus and enters Aquarius.
Feb 28, 2026
Mars reaches its greatest southern heliocentric latitude (-1.8475 deg)
Mar 25, 2026
Mars in Perihelion (1.38126 AU = 206.6 million km)
Apr 2, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Aquarius and enters Pisces.
Apr 25, 2026
Northern Winter, Southern Summer Solstice on Mars.
May 18, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Aries.
Jun 20, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus.
Jul 26, 2026
Mars passes the ascending node of its orbit, moving to the north of Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic, and getting northern ecliptic latitudes.
Aug 12, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Taurus and enters Gemini.
Aug 27, 2026
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 5".
Sep 25, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Gemini and enters Cancer.
Sep 30, 2026
Northern Spring, Southern Autumn Equinox on Mars.
Oct 5, 2026
Moon occults Mars.
Oct 19, 2026
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +1.0 mag.
Oct 30, 2026
Mars leaves constellation Cancer and enters Leo. It will stay in Leo during all of its opposition loop.
Nov 2, 2026
Moon occults Mars.
Nov 10, 2026
From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Eastern elongation from the Sun at about 37.94d. Only 89.43 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is illuminated.
Nov 19, 2026
Western Quadrature - Mars 90 deg West of Sun.
Nov 20, 2026
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +0.5 mag.
Dec 26, 2026
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds 0.0 mag.
Dec 29, 2026
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 10".
Jan 1, 2027
Mars is seen in the constellation Leo at a distance of 0.91 AU (137 million km) at -0.14 mag apparent brightness and 10.25" apparent diameter.
Jan 10, 2027
Retrogression begins: Mars becomes stationary and starts its retrograde opposition loop, as Earth passes between the Red Planet and the Sun.
Jan 16, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds -0.5 mag.
Jan 25, 2027
Mars reaches its greatest northern heliocentric latitude (+1.8474 deg)
Feb 5, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds -1.0 mag
Feb 19, 2027
Mars at Opposition on Earth, Earth in inferior conjunction on Mars. Apparent brightness of Mars reaches -1.21 mag in constellation Leo, Ecliptical length: 65.4 deg, position: RA 10:17, Decl- +15.4.
Feb 20, 2027
Closest Approach of Mars and Earth (0.67792 AU = 101.4 million km). Apparent diameter of Mars is 13.81".
Mar 4, 2027
Mars in Aphelion (1.6661009 AU = 249.2 million km)
Mar 6, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than -1.0 mag.
Mar 26, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than -0.5 mag.
April 1, 2027
Retrogression ends: Mars becomes stationary to end its retrograde opposition loop as the Earth has passed it on its inner orbit, and proceeds in prograde apparent motion.
Apr 14, 2017
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 10".
Apr 16, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than 0.0 mag.
Apr 17, 2027
Northern Summer, Southern Winter Solstice on Mars.
May 12, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than +0.5 mag.
May 26, 2027
Eastern Quadrature - Mars 90 deg East of Sun
Jun 3, 3027
From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Western elongation from the Sun at about 38.44 deg. Only 89.16 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is illuminated.
Jun 21, 2027
Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than +1.0 mag.
Jul 4, 2027
Mars leaves constellation Leo and enters Virgo.
Aug 11, 2027
Mars passes the descending node of its orbit, moving to the south of Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic, and getting southern ecliptic latitudes.
Aug 18, 2027
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 5".
Sep 14, 2027
Mars leaves constellation Virgo and enters Libra.
Sep 26, 2027
Mars at its least brightness (+1.35 mag)
Oct 15, 2027
Mars leaves constellation Libra and enters Scorpius.
Oct 17, 2027
Northern Autumn, Southern Spring Equinox on Mars.
Oct 27, 2027
Mars leaves constellation Scorpius and enters Ophiuchus.
Nov 21, 2027
Mars leaves constellation Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius.
Dec 29, 2027 Moon occults Mars.
Jan 1, 2028
Mars is seen in the constellation Sagittarius at a distance of 2.29 AU (343 million km) at 1.21 mag apparent brightness and 3.98" apparent diameter.
Jan 3, 2028
Mars leaves constellation Sagittarius and enters Capricornus.
Jan 16, 2028
Mars reaches its greatest southern heliocentric latitude (-1.8475 deg)
Feb 7, 2028
Mars leaves constellation Capricornus and enters Aquarius.
Mar 12, 2028
Northern Winter, Southern Summer Solstice on Mars.
Mars leaves constellation Aquarius and enters Pisces.
Mar 21, 2028
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Pisces. Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars. Distance 357 million km (2.3879 AU), apparent diameter 3.922", brightness +1.10 mag. This conjunction ends the 2027 apparition of Mars. It also starts the 2029 apparition of Mars.

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Last Modification: February 5, 2026