This summer Mars will come closer to Earth than at any time in tens of thousands of years. The planet will arrive at opposition to the Sun on Aug. 28, when it will rise at sunset and set at sunrise, as seen from Earth. This opposition occurs less than two days before Mars passes through the perihelion point of its orbit, when it is closest to the Sun. The minimum distance of Mars from Earth will be less than 34.65 million miles (55.76 million kilometers) at 5:51 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27, when the planet