Mars is gearing up for its closest opposition in tens of thousands of years, which will come in about 7 weeks.  Here we see Mars approaching τ Aquarii, and already shining at magnitude -1.65, brighter than Sirius.  Uranus is also in the field, just visible to the unaided eye at +5.75.  Note how far south of the ecliptic Mars is; he will dip even farther south by the date of opposition.  Unannotated image.