Hi guys, new member here. I am an amateur astronomer and I am having a big struggle using my telescope and I do not know what the issue is. Here is what I have:
Telescope:
Dobsonion xt8
Lenses:
25mm plossl (came with scope)
Celestron 8-24mm zoom eyepiece
6mm 66° “gold line” planetary eyepiece
2x Barlow
I went out tonight for about 3 hours. Mars was out, but I couldnt get a decent view of it no matter what I tried, it just looked like an orange star but a bit brighter. I was kind of confused because I feel like I had the eyepieces and telescope to support seeing Mars but nothing I tried worked. I also tried to find Orion's Nebula, and I found something... but not what I was really expecting. I attached some low quality photos, one photo turned our slightly red and one blue for some reason? It seemed completely gray from what I saw but any advice would be amazing, I really need help with this. And also I dont really speak telescope or astronomy yet so easy language would be appreciated! Thank you!