what am i doing wrong?

[Myfeetapontheground]

I tried to take some pictures of Venus last night but I can't figure out why my pictures are turning out like this. I am just now trying astro-photography and it is probably something really easy. I am using a Orion XT8, 2X Barlow lens, and a Orion Starshoot iv. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[YorkieGraham]

It looks to me as if you have too much gain and are overexposing. Set the brightness to the middle and turn the gain down until you have a much dimmer image feed. Also go in and out of focus until you have the best focus you are going to achieve. Get this right then you can start thinking about other settings. The problem with Venus is there is only the limb and terminator to focus on and judge how bright the feed should be. You need a much dimmer image than you think to get the right exposure. Try Jupiter if you haven't already as the belts give more of a reference - the detail cannot be seen unless you take the gain down. Once you see the detail on the live feed you are moving in the right direction. Good luck.