Newbie having issues.

[petermcc]

Hey everyone, 

 

I got a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ MD - 130mm Newtonian reflector scope. My lenses - 20mm, 15mm, 10mm, 9mm and a 2x barlow. 
I have just tried to view mars with my 9mm and 2x barlow and it was just a tiny red star. Couldnt even see a shape. 

Am I missing something, or is my scope not powerful enough to view mars? 

Any help or advice anyone can give this newbie would be amazing:) 

 

Thanks all. 

[Sunshine]

At the moment Mars is pretty much a tiny red dot even in my larger scope, it is much further away than it was this past summer.

[petermcc]

Well that makes me feel better haha. I wasnt sure what i was doing wrong. 
As a more seasoned star gazer do you think my scope is decent for planetary viewing, nebula etc? 

[Marvin Jenkins]

I’m using a 130 st Orion newt on an eq mount and depending on your light pollution levels you should have no problem seeing nebula, deep sky objects and planets.

I was out the other night and had M81 and M82 in the same fov. My eye pieces are similar plossle’s like yours, nothing special.

[Prolifics]

Throught my CPC1100 its pretty small too at the moment, plenty of other stuff to see until Mars gets closer.