You may want to watch out for a rare sight in the night sky on Saturday

A full moon over Galley head in West Cork. File picture: Eddie O'Hare

There will be a big double act in the night sky this weekend.

The planet Mars will be really bright in the sky on Saturday night and will appear very close to the Moon.

The red planet is outshining the stars in the sky at the moment since it is really close to the Earth.

This is the closest that Mars will come to our planet and it means that over the coming weeks it will be at its brightest for two years.

A Nasa photo of Mars, which will be at its brightest in the sky for two years. File picture: Nasa

At the weekend, it will pass very close to the top edge of the Moon which will be only a couple of nights after its full Moon phase on Wednesday.

David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine, says it is very rare for the red planet to pass so close to the Moon.

He said: "It is already outshining all the stars in the sky and will continue to do so for the next two months. 

"It is very unusual for Mars to be this bright and even more unusual for it to pass very close to the Moon while it is at its most spectacular, so, Astronomy Ireland is urging every Irish person to go outdoors at 10pm on Saturday evening and watch the Moon rise in the East with the planet Mars blazing just to its left. 

It will be an incredible sight to the naked eye.

He added that anyone wanting to see the Moon slowly edge closer to Mars, they can stay up longer as the pair get higher in the sky.

He said: "If you stay up until 6am, just before sunrise, on Sunday morning Mars will be just on the top edge of the Moon - something that will not be seen again for over two years in Irish skies.

"In fact, as well as watching at 10pm on Saturday night, we urge everyone to set their alarm for 6am on Sunday morning for the main event when Mars, now at its brightest in two years, is extremely close to the top edge of the Moon. 

"Most people will have never seen anything like it, and it is a spectacular of nature not to be missed, especially as the weather forecast for that morning looks promising."

If you miss this event there will be another chance to see something similar in December 2022, more than two years from now.