Tonight the planet Mars will make its closest approach to the Pleiades star cluster in over 30 years. At 23:26 UTC (6:26 PM EST) Mars will pass just 2.6° south of the Pleiades. The last time the pair were this close was 20 January 1991 when they were separated by 1.7°. They won’t be this close again until 4 February 2038 when they will be separated by 2.0°.
To find Mars and the Pleiades look high in the southwest sky. The pair will be to the right of the Orion and Taurus constellations. The Pleiades will appear as a fuzzy patch of light. Depending on how good your eyesight is you may be able to discern 6 or 7 of the brightest stars that form the cluster. Mars, with its reddish-orange color, will be below the Pleiades. You may also notice two other reddish-orange objects to the left of Mars, they are the stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse.
As an added bonus, over the next two weeks Mars will be moving between the Pleiades and the V-shaped open star cluster known as the Hyades. On the 19th the crescent moon will join the grouping.
Trivia: In Japan the Pleiades are known by another name – Subaru. Take a look at the Subaru car emblem and you will see six stars that represent the star cluster.