Stargazers will be out Monday night, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mars as it makes its closest point to Earth in 10 - 11 years.

Scott Young, the planetarium astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, said Mars has been appearing brighter than usual in the night sky for the past two weeks.

“Right now things are lined up so it’s very, very bright and obvious in the sky. You can see it with the unaided eye and it outshines all of the other stars, so it’s really easy to spot,” he said.

Young said with the aid of a small telescope, you can start to see the actual terrain of Mars. He said it really starts to look like a ‘real world’ with polar ice caps and dark spots.

"Mars is bright enough right now that you can easily see it as long as there's nothing physically in your way. It'll appear like a bright red star, or sort of orangey star. With a telescope you'll be able to see more details. But with the unaided eye, you're still seeing a planet that is 75 million kilometres away," said Young.

Mars and Earth cross paths every 26 months, but some encounters are closer than others because Mars follows an elliptical orbit.

Young said Mars appeared very brightly in 2003 and then again in 2005, when it was in good view as well.

Mars will start rising above the southeastern horizon around 9 p.m. and will hit its highest point around 1 a.m.

To actually see Mars, Young suggests going to a place where you can see the southern horizon without any bright lights. But, he also said you can actually see Mars this time from inside the city as well.

He said those interested will still be able to see Mars as it recedes over the next month.