In case you hadn't heard, Earth and Mars are the closest they've been to each other in 59,619 years — a mere 55.8 million kilometers (34.6 million miles) apart.  If you have a telescope or a pair of binoculars, you should be able to make out the rusty bright spot in the night sky with clarity that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event (the next time Mars and Earth will be this close is in 2287 when the planets will actually be nearer each other than they are right now).