A rare cosmic alignment is set to take place this week, as Mars will be opposite the sun in the sky on April 8, according to Weather.com.

This occurrence, which is known as an "Opposition of Mars," occurs with Mars, from Earth's perspective, every 778 days.

Since Earth is closer to the sun, it moves faster than Mars, traveling around the Sun in 365 days.

Mars takes 687 days to complete the same trip, according to Weather.com.

Planets like Venus and Earth follow paths that are almost perfect circles. Others, like Mars and Mercury, follow more elliptical orbits, which have been described as being more eccentric.

On the day when the opposition is expected, Earth, Mars and the Sun are expected to fall on a straight line. Six days later, both planets will move a little on their orbits, but thanks to the eccentricity of its orbit, Mars will be closer to Earth than it was before, according to Weather.com.

Planets like Earth and Venus follow almost perfect circles centered on the sun. Planets like Mars and Mercury meanwhile are misaligned.

Most media outlets have said it you look closely at Mars' orbit at around the 4:00 point, you'll notice a tick mark, which indicates Mars' perihelion.

Mars' perihelion is the point when it's closest to the sun.

Mars and Earth will be at its closest almost week later on April 14, according to Weather.com. The best time to watch the opposition, will be at around midnight, when nightfall is expected to be at its darkest, weather pending.

"The full moon will be gliding by the Red Planet in the constellation Virgo providing a can't-miss landmark in the midnight sky," said NASA in a statement.

The distance between Mars and Earth is closing in at around 185 miles per minute.

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