I'd say it is brighter than Jupiter now.
I can't make out any detail with my 70mm refractor though, unless there's maybe alot of dust storms on Mars right now, it just looks like a pale golden-yellow ball, no features at all. maybe I shoulda got a larger reflector scope instead, I thought a refractor would be better to start out with.
When the nights get longer this fall, hopefully i can get in more viewing, still waiting to see anything really interesting besides the moon. Any good suggestions?

Gilly