Mars was at opposition in Gemini in early January of this year, and since completing its retrograde loop has been moving eastward against the stars with increasing speed.  Here we find him in central Leo in early July as the Lion is about to set in early evening.  Mars was magnitude +1.57 on this date, which is dimmer than Regulus.  Regulus only appears dimmer than Mars because clouds were drifting in from the western horizon during my exposure.  Unannotated image