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On top of all the factors previously mentioned, closed tube scopes like
your 6SE take a long time to equalise to the ambient temperature, and
should be put outside at least an hour before being used. The planets are
especially vulnerable to poor seeing, and your experience with them will
vary from night to night. Occasionally you will get a night when you will see all sorts of detail, and these nights are what keep you coming back
for more.
If the moons twinkled, your local conditions were clearly not the best.
They should be solid pinpricks, and at high magnification should show
some slight dimension. With higher mag not only is the image dimmer,
but is also less sharp, regardless of eyepiece quality; simple physics.
Many newbies are disappointed with their first experiences, but with
more experience your seeing ability improves, so soldier on.
raymo
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