As a comparison to Mars Retrograde in 2005, in the table below are the Mars rise and transit times for July 19 to September 15, 2003 as viewed from Pasadena, California (home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory). The times listed are Pacific Daylight Savings Time on a 24-hour clock.

Find out the rise and transit times for your area of the United States.

Rise time is when Mars first appears above the horizon. Transit time is when Mars reaches its highest point in the sky for that day.

Note that the rise time gets earlier with each passing day. It's almost four hours earlier in mid-September than in mid-July. On August 27, when Mars is closest to Earth, the rise time in the Los Angeles area will be 7:49 p.m.

The transit time also gets earlier and earlier, and reaches midnight around September 10.