On 27 July 2018, Mars came into opposition, being in the same direction as the Earth, viewed from the Sun. A few days later, on 31 July 31, at 10.50 Latvian time, it approached the Earth up to 57.6 million km. Mars was even brighter and even closer to Earth only during the 2003 opposition. At that time, it approached the Earth to 55.8 million km, which was the shortest distance in 60,000 years of history, the next time this record will be broken only in 2287.

Currently in Latvia, Mars is observed around midnight on the southern side of the sky, low on the horizon like a bright glow. Although, it is closer to Earth, Mars is about half the size of Earth, and its visible angular dimensions are only 24.3 arcseconds (about 75 times less than the angular dimensions of the Moon). Mars orbits the Sun in 687 Earth days. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second closest to Earth (Venus is the closest). 

Mars orbits the Sun in 687 Earth days. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second closest to Earth (Venus is the closest). The distance between the two planets is constantly changing as they revolve around the Sun. In theory, the two planets are closest to each other when Mars is closest to the Sun at the point of orbit (perihelion), and Earth is at its farthest point (aphelion). Then, the distance between the planets is 54.6 million kilometres. However, this has never happened. The closest recorded distance between the two planets was recorded in 2003, when they were only 56 million km apart.   

More information: https://www.space.com/40588-mars-at-opposition.html

Image source: https://www.space.com/16875-how-far-away-is-mars.html