Thanks to the internet and automation, senior astronomer Martin Fiedler, of the Astroclub at the Radebeul Observatory near Dresden, in Germany, will guide the telescope via computer to make remote observations and receive a live data feed.
Mr Fiedler began making some observations remotely via Dunedin last night and will continue tonight when Mars and the Sun are in opposition - exactly opposite each other in the night sky.
Mars and Earth are also unusually close - about 57 million km apart.
The last known closest approach was in 2003, when the planets were only 56 million km apart, their closest for 50,000 years.
Southern hemisphere viewers will be able to see Mars high in the sky this week as a bright object to the right of the full moon.
By contrast, viewers from Germany will see Mars for a shorter time, much lower to the horizon.
Dunedin's humble observatory may be perched in a quiet city park but its views are attracting growing interest from overseas astronomers."It's nice to be part of a success story," Dunedin Astronomical Society president Ash Pennell said yesterday.
A society member for 50 years, Mr Pennell said the recent international links began in 2015, when he had led a team of amateur astronomers, which had made some important observations of the remote icy dwarf planet Pluto.
In August 2016, French astronomer Francois Colas, of the Paris Observatory, made his first visit to New Zealand, to study a giant asteroid, called Chariklo.
This was apparently the first time, for at least several decades, that a European astronomer had used the observatory.
Mr Pennell was "delighted" further international links were being formed.
Fellow Dunedin astronomer Mirko Harnisch is a German-born former Dresden resident and former member of the Astroclub. His connections had helped with the recent "win-win" links.
Members of the public can visit the observatory for viewing sessions from 7.30pm to 9.30pm tonight, tomorrow and on Sunday.
