On May 30, skywatchers will have the chance to see Mars in a way it hasn’t looked in over a decade as the red planet comes closer to the Earth than it has in 11 years.

According to NASA, Mars will be about 46.8 million miles away from our planet. While it’s not exactly a hop and a skip away, it’s a lot closer than its usual 249-million-mile distance.

Because the two planets have egg-shaped orbits, their minimum distance apart doesn’t stay the same. On top of that, gravitational pulling from planets constantly changes the shape of their orbits little by little. This is what allows the two planets to drift nearer to each other from time to time.

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Mars will be at its brightest from May 18 to June 3, NASA reports. Its close proximity during this time also makes it visible to the naked eye. This kind of optimal red planet spotting only happens once or twice every 15 years or so.

The red planet reaches its highest point around midnight, and will be visible for much of the night. You can find the best time to spot it by dropping your location in here.

Mars’ last close approach was in 2003when it scooted in closer than it had in almost 60,000 years.

NASA says the next close approach won’t occur until July 31, 2018.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: The Red Planet

The Red Planet

This image released Aug. 27, 2003 captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a close-up of Mars when the telescope was 34,648,840 miles away. The picture, assembled from a series of exposures, was taken just 11 hours before the planet made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years.