Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! I recently joined this forum for the express purpose of answering this question: Why does Mars look like a simple star through my telescope? I have a Starsense Explorer LT 80AZ refractor with a 10mm, 25mm and 2x Barlow lens, and my telescope has a max magnification of 189x! So why is it, on a pretty clear winters night, that the mighty Mars, the Red Planet , looks like a humble star. I love stars (who the hell doesn't) but i rather hoped to see a planet. What am i doing wrong? AM i doing something wrong or is my telescope inadequate (i doubt it though). I use the 10mm plus the Barlow, and still nothing. Is this just how Mars looks through a telescope like mine? Or maybe i'm not looking at Mars at all. Although, according to my research, the Red Planet currently resides in the constellation of Aries. Correct? Please. please answer my question as it is driving me up the wall. Plus, if anyone has the time, could someone recommend a good astronomy app, other than the starsense one, that you can just point at the sky? Thank you so much for reading this. Have a lovely day.