Polar alignment - Southern Hemisphere (with south view blocked)

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nandojoe
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2026 4:15 pm

Polar alignment - Southern Hemisphere (with south view blocked)

#1

Post by nandojoe »

Hi Robin! I have a question: at my country house (in the Southern Hemisphere), my view to the south is blocked. Consequently, I cannot perform polar alignment using the southern sky, even though I am in the Southern Hemisphere.

I’ve searched online but only found instructions for using SharpCap while facing south in the Southern Hemisphere. Is there a way to use SharpCap to perform polar alignment in the Southern Hemisphere while facing north?

Thanks again for your help and patience.
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admin
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Re: Polar alignment - Southern Hemisphere (with south view blocked)

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

sorry, unfortunately that isn't possible with SharpCap's polar alignment... You need a view of the celestial pole in order for the alignment to work, and in the southern hemisphere that must of course be the south celestial pole.

Probably the best bet is to use an alternative polar alignment tool - I think that NINA has a plugin for 3-star polar alignment. There is also a scripting tool for SharpCap written by Jean-Francois that has this functionality (see viewtopic.php?p=52608#p52608 - not sure if that is the latest version though).

cheers,

Robin
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