Orion the Hunter, and Mars

When I take the garbage out at about 1 AM lately, I look to the south and there is Orion the Hunter shining in the sky, always a magnificent reminder that winter has arrived.  But these days there is something extra something special.  Mars, the God of war is brightly shining almost directly over my head and above Orion.  It is the orange circle near the top center of the photograph.  Such a spectacular sight, this magnificent constellation, and the orange beacon above it.  I have been an amateur astronomer since 1989 and have never seen anything like this before.  Mars and Earth come close to each other every two years or so, but sometimes Mars can be quite low in the sky and each time we are close to Mars, it is in a completely different part of the sky.   But this apparition, as it is called, or "appearance" is the most spectacular in my memory!