Mars is coming to the end of one of its 15 (or sometimes 17) year cycles, in which it undergoes opposition in either odd or even years.  The current cycle began in 1993 when Mars was at opposition in eastern Gemini in January, and now concludes with a December opposition in western Gemini.  The next series of oppositions will begin in January 2010 and continue for every even numbered year until December 2022.  Here we see Mars three weeks before its opposition of December 24, on this night shining at magnitude -1.35 and 15.3" arcseconds in diameter.   Unannotated image, Retrograde loop.