Mars - at last!
Above, 445X, 1/15 sec. using the 7 inch Maksutov made at 1am. The planet appeared bright red in the sky, much brighter than any star, I almost thought it cast shadows.
A 6mm orthoscopic eyepiece was a big improvement over the 9mm modified acromat previously used for high magnification. Although this eyepiece has a very narow field of view, it has superior contrast to even the 4.8mm Nagler, used for the 550X drawing below, an hour later than the photo.
A yellow filter increased the contrast within the polar cap bringing out a depression along it's eastern edge (top), a dark ring surrounding the cap and a feathered appearance opposite the depression:
