Can what I saw be explained?

[Algieba]

A few months ago I used a telescope for the first time and I got slightly confused at what I saw. I angled it towards the moon and when I looked through I saw white with brown specks. I thought it might have been dust so I wiped it, but I still had the same problem, white with blurred brown specks. I tried to focus it but it still looked the same. Can what I saw be explained?

[Steve Ward]

Dust on the inside face of the eyepiece.

[Algieba]

Thanks! That's probably what it was thinking about it!

[Paul M]

My guess is that you're trying to use a very high magnification, beyond that usable with your scope, and not managing to find a usable focus.

Some proprietary  telescopes require a specific eyepiece arrangement such as "erecting" lenses to be used with the eyepiece to allow focus to be reached. 

If you have a selection of eyepieces you should try using the one with the highest number on eg. 25mm. This will give the lowest power and is a good starting point. Don't use any Barlow lenses initially as that will increase magnification and add to your problems.

As stated above the specs you see are probably dust on the optics. This is exacerbated at higher magnifications. Im my case some of the specs I see are "floaters" in the fluid in my eyes. Quite common and generally nothing to worry about. They'll still be there even with perfect optics and focus.

[Algieba]

Thanks for the advice! I do have a selection so next time I will try using the one with the lowest power and getting the dust off the optics.

The telescope I was using was around 35 years old, but has been quite well maintained over the years, however this may not have helped.