According to the Sydney Morning Herald, it has been many generations since the Earth and Mars have been 55 million kilometres apart, which is very close. And it will take 300 more years before they get this close again.

I decided to go out to an open field close to home to witness this for myself. Armed with a nerdy, old fashioned pair of binoculars, I made my way there and looked up in the sky.

And all I saw was an orange star.