In the week that Mars orbits closer to Earth than at any time in the last 60,000 years, eyes turn towards the heavens for a close-up view of the Red Planet and beyond.
In a live Open University special, shown to coincide with National Astronomy week, Sophie Raworth and Rajesh Mirchandani are at the Lovell radio telescope in Cheshire, while Chris Riley perches on the edge of a volcanic mountain in the Canary Islands with the giant Isaac Newton telescope. Joining them are celebrities, stargazers and amateur and professional astronomers - all hoping to catch a glimpse of exploding stars, galaxies, the moons of Uranus and perhaps even signs of extraterrestrial life.
Producer Peter Brown ; Executive producer Jack Weber (S) (W) www.open2.net Red Planet is on Wednesday at 9pm on Radio A Mars a day: page 31