I have an old Russian made 6” Maksutov Newtonian that I have not set up for years. I guess it’s time to bring it out. I really prefer dark skies and light buckets, but Mars should be a nice view.
Disclaimer: I paid for the Russian telescope. It was not a bribe, and I’m not a Russian BOT.
We had clear skies last night. The moon was nearly full and blazingly bright, and Mars was nearby as bright as I ever recall seeing him. The moon’s light outshone street lights and blocked most other celestial sights, but Mars could stand on his own. I took out my Celestron ED-100 spotting scope (100 mm x 540mm FL) and attached my Sony A-6000 (APS-C) mirrorless camera via eyepiece projection (Celestron 8 mm - 24 mm) resulting in an effective focal length of about 3000 mm. I am going to try tonight with my Celestron C8 on a Vixen equatorial mount. Wish me luck.