Do you like watching stars? Do you（21）time watching the sky on the Mid-autumn Day every year? On this（22）day in 2003, Mars attracted more attention than the moon.
The earth and Mars are two planets, far from each other. They run in different orbits（23）the sun. The earth was_（24）with Mars in August and September. And on August 27 , Mars was the closest to the earth in 60,000 years. It was only 55.76 million kilometers（25）from the earth on that day. The next time Mars（26）come so close to the earth is in 2287.
Mars became brighter around that day. By looking（27）telescopes, sky watchers_（28） that they saw Mars’ south polar cap(冰帽). It is made of（29）water and dry ice. It reflects sunlight well. “I can see the polar ice clearly using my 8-inch telescope,” says Ron Wayman from the USA.
Soon after the sunset, Mars rose from the east. The fans of Mars didn’t stop watching Mars（30）the next morning when the sun rose and Mars set.