Difficulty finding planet in sharpcap with 3X barlow

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Moonstruck
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Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 4:34 pm

Difficulty finding planet in sharpcap with 3X barlow

#1

Post by Moonstruck »

I was using sharpcap with my ZWO ASI 224 MC camera last night to look at Venus, and when I installed my 3X barlow with the camera, the planet completely disappeared from the screen. I moved the telescope/camera around, and turned the gain way up in sharpcap, but I could not find it no matter what I did. Any suggestions for an easy way to locate a planet using sharpcap, without having to remove the camera, insert an eyepiece, center it, and put the camera back in repeatedly? Or is using a barlow lens with a camera like mine just not a good idea? I wanted to make the image bigger with the barlow, but I couldn't make it work. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Menno555
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Re: Difficulty finding planet in sharpcap with 3X barlow

#2

Post by Menno555 »

Hi

Most likely Venus was there but completely out of focus. When adding a Barlow, you have to adjust your focus again and rather a long way sometimes.
Best way without using an eyepiece, it first without a Barlow. Find Venus and and put it in the center of the screen.
Then carefully remove the camera, place the Barlow and camera and then adjust the focus of your telescope.
But it's useful to first determine how far you have to focus and which way to turn the focus knob.
You can do this during the daytime. Find a far away point like a church tower or radiomast. Bring this in view without the Barlow and focus.
Then place the Barlow and see which way you have to turn the focus knob and roughly how much turns you have to do before it's back in focus.

Menno
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turfpit
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Re: Difficulty finding planet in sharpcap with 3X barlow

#3

Post by turfpit »

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4449 see my post in this topic for some ideas.

Dave
Moonstruck
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Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 4:34 pm

Re: Difficulty finding planet in sharpcap with 3X barlow

#4

Post by Moonstruck »

Thanks for the suggestions.
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