There is a great pumpkin rising in the eastern sky. Well, at least that's what Mars looks like right now. The red planet is the brightest star-like object in the evening sky.

Mars is as close as it's been to Earth since August 2003. At that time, Mars was 35 million miles away — the closest it's been in the past 60,000 years. Now it is just over 41 million miles away. The planet won't be this close again until 2018.

Every 25½ months, Earth and Mars are in what astronomers call opposition. As both planets make their respective orbits around the sun, they occasionally arrive in a position where Earth lies roughly in a line between the Sun and Mars.

But distances vary greatly because of the lopsided nature of orbits. They aren't perfect circles; but more oval or elliptical. This gives each planet a minimum and maximum distance from the sun during their respective orbits. These extremes are called perihelion and aphelion.

So in August 2003, Mars was nearly at its perihelion and Earth was nearly at its aphelion. They're not as close this time because neither planet is at this extreme point.

Even though Mars is about 6 million miles farther away, you may actually get better results from a telescope this time around. In 2003, Mars rose along the horizon. The Earth's atmosphere, therefore, obscured many of the planet's features.

This time around, Mars is much higher in the sky, rising high above the atmospheric haze. Even with a small to moderately powered telescope, you may actually make out surface features on the red planet. Some of the things to look for include its southern polar cap and dark splotches, which are vast valley regions. You may even make out a few white clouds.

A few tips for making your viewing conditions better:

First, make sure you let your telescope and all of the lenses sit outside and adjust to the temperature. If you don't, you're almost assured of a distorted image.

Secondly, wait until after 9 p.m. so Mars is high enough above the horizon.

And, finally, make sure you look at Mars over extended periods of time. Brief glances won't allow your eye time to get used to the darkness and contrast in the field of view. Try to stare at Mars continually for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

There will be some nights when Mars will be a little fuzzy no matter how good your telescope is or how much time you spend viewing it. High atmospheric winds occasionally cause too much turbulence in the air for a clear view. Try looking again on the next clear night.

In my experience, some of the best viewing nights for Mars is when there is a high thin layer of transparent cirrus clouds. They provide a natural filtering that helps in the visibility of Mars' surface features.

Another intriguing aspect of viewing Mars is that you won't see the same features every time you point your telescope at it. That's because Mars rotates on its axis — just like Earth — although it does spin a little slower. One day on Mars is a little over 24½ hours. So if you view it at the same time every night, you should see a slightly different part of the planet.

To explore these features in more detail, check out a Web site from Sky and Telescope Magazine that links you to Mars Profiler software. It will explain what features you'll be viewing at any given time. The site is www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets.

While you have your telescope out, take a look to the left of the red planet. There is a bright cluster of stars resembling a miniature Big Dipper. The cluster is called Pleiades and is more than 2,400 trillion miles away. They're a treat to view through your telescope.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and author of the new book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web site www.lynchandthestars.com