April 8, 2014. Mars opposition, i.e. Mars, Earth and Sun line up just right for Mars to really "shine." (Thru a good part of April, btw.)   Directly opposite the Sun relative to Earth's orbit. (Cloudy here, but will hopefully be clear when Mars is near the moon for the total lunar eclipse of full moon (blood moon) on April 15.


http://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20140408_13_100

Blood Moon.