[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Last night I thought I would give Mars a crack to image (I know it can be difficult to get a really good photo of it).

Now I know SCT focusers are horrible and are very fiddly especially with the mirror shift and that it can be tricky to obtain detail on Mars depending on the atmospheric conditions. For some reason I felt like I couldn't get Mars into focus last night and there was hardly any detail on it at all.

What I used:
- Celestron C8-A
- ZWO ASI224MC
- Dew shield and dew band (50 - 80% warm)

I have added an image of what the capture video looked like and two images after being stacked with AutoStakker.

Also I popped my QHY5L-II in to see what would happen as well and I got the exact same results so there must be something up with the scope itself. To also test I took a few shots of the Moon which looked to have come out fine. It's only Mars, Jupiter and Saturn I am having trouble with. (Saturn looked alright but I think it can be better).

I have seem some great shots taken of Mars with this OTA so I know it's possible to get something decent. The only issues I can think of which is collimation (was done by a professional when I got the scope serviced so that should be fine) and possible cool down time of the glass.

Can anyone suggest any other possible issues or any test I can perform to find the issue?

Thanks!