RAWALPINDI, Aug 27: People in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Wednesday had a historic peek at the glowing Mars in its rendezvous with Earth in 60,000 years.

While most people witnessed this historic event with naked eye from their rooftops, there was no dearth of those using a vast array of high-tech digital and optical equipment.

Unlike other countries, there were no official arrangements to enable the people to have a look at the planet. Those seeing the planet with naked eye or ordinary binoculars saw a blurry, fuzzy whitish ball. Others using more sophisticated equipment saw the ice-capped poles, deserts and dark patches on the planet.

“It is a delightful lifetime experience to see something our ancestors had seen 60,000 years ago,” said Akhtar, who was watching the planet through his newly-bought pair of binoculars. “It’s really great,” he exclaimed.

The sudden clouding of the twin cities skies in the afternoon threatened to spoil the view, but the clouds largely cleared away. The view improved overnight and the planet was brightest around midnight. “If you have missed out watching the Mars on Wednesday night, you may still have a closer view in days to come. It makes no real difference whether you look at the Mars tonight or...next week. It doesn’t move that fast and is going to stay bright for some time,” an astronomer said.