Greg Chapman - Research

First, if you are heading out of the city this weekend to the country for the holiday weekend, or have the benefit of living in a place where you can actually see stars, take a look through a telescope because there lies a bonus for you this week. Mars is best seen This week marks the closest distance between Earth and Mars since 2003 and the closest that they will be until 2016.

Although the best views of Mars occurred on Tuesday when the two planets were the closest, the red planet should be able to be seen through the end of next month, which means that star gazers could be in store for something remarkable.

At the end of next month, according to NASA scientists, there is a 1 in 75 chance that the planet could be struck by an asteroid on January 30. To put it in some perspective, the usual odds of something like this occuring is 1 in 350 and scientists believe that the odds will only be shrinking as we head in to January.

NASA scientists are stating that the impact of this asteroid on Mars could be equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb blast , and would be the size of the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona.