MARS-SPOTTING: A visitor takes a look through the new telescope at BITM. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

As the Red Planet draws nearer, here?s a tech tool for a closer and clearer look.

A 10-inch Cassegrain Telescope is the highlight of Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM)?s Mars watch, as the planet prepares for the ?opposition? on October 29.

?With winter approaching, the cloudless skies will allow us to observe the celestial bodies better,? said Jayanta Sthanapati, director of BITM. The telescope ? the first of its kind in eastern India ? will improve the view.

The museum is organising a daily Mars-viewing session between October 29 and November 13 from 6 pm to 9 pm.

?It will be a great experience to watch the polar ice caps, dust storms and clouds on the planet through the telescope,? Sthanapati said.

On October 29 ? the day of the ?opposition? ? Mars draws closest to Earth and is expected to remain visible throughout the night.

?We may extend the session beyond 9 pm, depending on the condition of the sky and the popularity of the show,? indicated Sthanapati.

Imported from the US, the Cassegrain Telescope is capable of magnification by 550 times. ?Coordinates and other data can be fed into the telescope through the computer. It can track planets and other objects accordingly,? a museum official explained.

BITM is also conducting an astronomy programme on weekends, starting October 29, targeted at school students and guardians accompanying them.

In the three-and-a-half-hour programme, children and their parents will be treated to a slide show on astronomy, a workshop where they will be taught to make astronomical gadgets, and a lecture entitled ?Mars comes close to Earth?. ?We are expecting at least 100 participants,? Sthanapati added.