The Sky Today on Friday, August 14: Mars meets M35

Mars passes close to the open cluster M35, located at the foot of Gemini the Twins. Catch the lovely pairing in the predawn sky. | Published: August 14, 2026 Mars is now near one of the Twins’ feet in Gemini, within 1° of the lovely open cluster M35. Use this chart to find Mars, just west of Eta (η) Geminorum, then home in on the Red Planet with binoculars or a telescope to bring M35 into view, just to its northeast. Credit: Stellarium Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. August 13: Catch streaming shooting stars Mars stands within 1° of the open cluster M35 in the early-morning sky. Both are located at the feet of Gemini the Twins, after Mars crossed into the constellation from Taurus just two days ago. Around 4:45 A.M. local daylight time, you’ll find the Red Planet nearly 30° high in the east, to the far upper right of Castor and Pollux, the heads of Gemini, and to the lower left of Zeta (ζ) Tauri, the tip of the southern horn of Taurus the Bull. Magnitude 1.3 Mars is now just over 2° northwest of 3rd-magnitude Eta (η) Geminorum; it will pass close to this star later in the week. M35, glowing at magnitude 5.3, is a great target for binoculars or a small telescope. It will appear within the same field of view as Mars using either optical aid, just 1° to Mars’ northeast. Spanning nearly half a degree, roughly the same size as the Full Moon, this open cluster contains more than a hundred young stars. Dozens will pop out even under low magnification, with more becoming apparent as you step up in telescope size. But to capture all its stars, staying at low magnification to give yourself the largest field of view is best. Sunrise: 6:11 A.M.Sunset: 7:58 P.M.Moonrise: 8:20 A.M.Moonset: 8:59 P.M.Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (7%)*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location. Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.