• NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) - with the new Mars rover Curiosity aboard - is now closing in on the planet Mars, due to arrive August 5, 2012 according to clocks at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which oversees the mission. As our spacecraft nears the Red Planet, Mars itself is putting on a show in our night sky. It's forming a noticeable triangle in the west after sunset with two other bright objects, the planet Saturn and the star Spica. Watch for them!
• Want to learn more about Mars Curiosity rover? Watch this awesome video
• Here's how to find Mars tonight. The

chart at the top of this post shows you what tonight's sky scene will look like. Tonight, as darkness falls, look for these two planets - Mars and Saturn - and the star Spica to pop out fairly low in the sky. From mid-northern latitudes, the threesome appears in the southwest. At more southerly latitudes, look for them in a more westerly direction. All across the globe, however, the close-knit trio of lights should be conspicuous at nightfall.
• In a little more than a week from now, the red planet Mars will pass right in between the ringed planet Saturn and Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. And in just a few days, all three luminaries will be close enough to fit - or nearly fit - within a single binocular field.
• Bottom line: Look outside after sunset tonight for Mars, the targeted planet for NASA's new rover Curiosity, due to arrive August 5. The planet can be seen tonight in a triangle with the planet Saturn and star Spica, in the west after sunset.