Saturn through my Biggest Telescope! 🪐

[@stevensiwinski]

America here. Everything is meaningless and we're all going to die.

[@paigecfrancis]

That part. 🤣😢

[@mark2220]

Also, we are not ok. Sweet of you to ask, Dylan

[@chachilongshot]

Definitely not ok

[@Tinkiebutt]

Shut up stop watching the news & delete your social media

[@shubhamcweb]

Quite literally! 😂

[@davidemancini7853]

Mate this is refreshing, today i saw 8 video’s of the bloody Seestar S30 unboxing without actually showing any DSO photo’s! Like we need to watch youtube to show us how to pull a damn telescope out of the box!I felt been back in the 80’s late night on the vendor’s channel🤣🤣🤣

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha unboxing's suck ! (you'll notice if I ever do them they take a few seconds!)

[@davidemancini7853]

Ye man, what’s the point! All we are interested in is how a particular telescope performs and the technical details……we know how to open a freking box

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I feel personally attacked here since you left a similar comment on my video, so I'll answer here as well :) I do show a DSO photo in the video, and I have used it under the stars so I could report on the experience! I give feedback on the amount of dropped frames in both normal and mosaic mode compared to the S50, and show the use on the Sun. Plus the unboxing itself was the first couple of minutes of the video (and maybe around 30-60s within those two minutes). A lot of people wanted to see the size difference with other scopes, so I wanted to release that first since it doesn't look like I'll have another clear night for at least a week. That said, Dylan's video is awesome!

[@DylanODonnell]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hey there Cuiv! Thanks!

[@davidemancini7853]

@ Cuiv i do follow you from long time now and i do enjoy your video’s! My remark was not directed to you in particular but to the AP youtube community , lately it looks that most of you guys try to push products rather than stick to what AP it’s all about, i mean it is shocking to watch 8 unboxing video’s! Seems to me that you guys are competing to who’s show the latest gadget first rather then wait and construct an informative video.

[@wwrp155]

I would buy from Dylan's Big Ahh Tubes.

[@DylanODonnell]

😂

[@anthonyrobida]

I watched The Space Koala handle the C14 by herself, 😮, amazing.

[@DylanODonnell]

I saw that one too! Props!

[@Westlake]

Being north of the US border is certainly causing some anxiety for us too, with our trade agreements and another stooge who wants to be our prime minister next year. Anyway in better news, I was fortunate to get to see the "Astronomy Photographer of the Year" exhibit while in London (UK) recently, put on by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and am inspired to dust off and power up my rig that's been sitting idle next to my desk for over a year. Your videos go along way to inspire me and others as well. Hopefully, many will receive some tariff-free astro gear this Christmas season!

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey thanks .. the exhibition sounds amazing! 🇨🇦

[@Astrolavista]

Dylan, you're one clever sod! I can barely string a sentence together, and here you are packing each video with so much well-articulated info. Respect for the real science you’re diving into and 'Dylan’s Big Ass Tubes' does have a nice 'ring' to it.

[@shubhamcweb]

Dylan’s Big Ahh Tubes 😂

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey thanks ! My strategy now is to hit record and waffle on for 30 mins then edit it to make myself sound coherent. I’m glad it lands!

[@fretlessj8599]

We’re doing fine. Prices here have already increased 40%+. I cannot afford to upgrade my equipment until my pay catches up to the horrific inflation from the last 3 years. That might take another decade. By then astrophotography technology should be incredible.

[@DylanODonnell]

I compared prices and we pay much more than you guys do already .. I hope it comes down! If China looks to push exports and AU I could get lucky!

[@TheBignick243]

You get a James Webb Telescope....You get a James Webb Telescope....You get a James Webb Telescope....You get a James Webb Telescope....You get a James Webb Telescope....Everybody get a James Webb Telescope!!!!!!!!!!

[@sjbastro]

I didn't know that no one has ever captured an impact flash on Saturn. Great to hear that amateurs are trying. May you be the first! 😃

[@DylanODonnell]

Fingers crossed !

[@maryannechilton1465]

We’re numb. Yeah…everything is off the rails.

[@olegsastrophotography1771]

Thank you bro hello from UKRAINE!☺

[@sjpp71]

Dylan, you just need to "damien peach your way out" to get a good image of the planets. Grab your tiny scope, mount and off to Barbados! EDIT: oh, and one kindly suggestion, mate: feel free to talk about EVERYTHING you want to talk about here: astronomy, politics, religion, psicoanalysis of narcissistic billionaires, etc. Your channel, your choice!

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks for you kind words and sage advice !

[@fazergazer]

I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. It might be permanent this time.😮

[@DylanODonnell]

Excellent:)

[@M42-Orion-Nebula]

I'm planning on buying this scope in 10 years. I'll come back to thank you Dylan.

[@DylanODonnell]

Should be a million dollars by then :)

[@M42-Orion-Nebula]

@DylanODonnell With inflation, I agree. I'm going to have to buy Bitcoin as a hedge at this point just to afford this bad boy.

[@mattpenn3972]

Ugggg... 3/10 of my fellow countrymen voted for this situation, and 4/10 didn't vote at all... So 7/10 deserve all that will occur! And ssshh about the upcoming tariffs... Don't want more competition for my astro and Scotch orders please!

[@jameshcox]

Please keep the astro-escapism coming. I'm not going to buy my dream 'scope just yet, so I can at least enjoy yours. JC

[@DylanODonnell]

🫡

[@Thunder_Dome45]

Monochrome is fine for me except no matter how short the videos, the main 4 moons of Jupiter still move between R,G, and B filters. Winjupos can help with that a little but you have to get it perfectly aligned, or measured I mean. My focal length for planets is 5,000mm. Maybe it's seeing issues and the way stacking is done, cause the moons move around like they are at the bottom of a pool. I'd like to see what filters you get. I use ZWO "new" filters, but i think they may be too dark. Sharpcap has 2 kinds of planetary guiding. It will use the mount, or the ROI. I use the ROI because I'm watching the captures so if it drifts to the edge of the sensor I can adjust it.

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh I struggle with the moons too! I’ll check out the sharpcap stuff thx :)

[@CraftTasticAnimations]

We have a MEADE 14 lx850, it definitely blows things away. Australia are you ok? We heard you guys are losing your civil rights little by little and memes are about to be as illegal as GTA 5 and 6

[@DylanODonnell]

Nope? We still meme without recourse! We don’t have enshrined freedom of speech, but we’re very happy, healthy and safe.

[@Smokeyr67]

You've heard wrong, we're safe, happy and paranoia free 😀

[@tadassiksnius3402]

Hey man, just a quick heads up, sharpcap guiding works great on planets.

[@DylanODonnell]

Really? I was reading a dev post from 6 months ago saying he wasn’t Implementing it? Can sharpcap guide on a planet in the main camera?

[@tadassiksnius3402]

@DylanODonnell yes, I use same imaging camera to do guiding. Go to, feature tracking - use mount- use object mass. Do a quick calibration and inve prompted hit guide. From this point it's straight into autofocus, which also works like charm.

[@DylanODonnell]

@tadassiksnius3402 nice .. thanks !

[@69Atho]

Sharpcap also has feature and centre of mass guiding, and it works well on planets, the moon, and the sun.

[@DylanODonnell]

Ok thanks, I couldn’t find this but I’ll have another look!

[@old_photons]

Pre-election I had already ordered a C11 Edge during the Celestron October sale. Building things up bit by bit. Interested to see where you go with your focuser. My first attempt for guiding will be a DUO camera to make the most of my back working distance / back focus. I've been fearful of flexure issues, but you seem to be managing just fine with your guide scope. My Losmandy mount arrives Saturday (fingers crossed) but already have inside time planned with the unavoidable cloud cover increase. Had to go play with calculator tools then checked the Australia weather - which of course the description had me laughing (raining .. bullshit)

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha yes congrats! You’ve got a lot of fun coming.

[@augusto3645]

When will we get a PlaneWave?

[@tannergerstner1524]

Glad things are coming together with that monster scope! Have you thought about doing any images that are deep dives into nebulae in other galaxies with all that focal length? There were several inside M33 that my latest image brought out that I would love to image close up.

[@DylanODonnell]

Oh yes eventually !

[@blobrana8515]

It's normal to visually observe saturn with a yellow filter, but i would perhaps suggest an infrared filter of 750 or 620 nanometers if imaging (if the camera is sensitive enough for IR imaging). The bonus is that seeing become just a bit better as well as improved saturn atmosphere contrast that will highlight any impacts. The drawback is that the images could be 6-10? stops fainter)

[@DylanODonnell]

Sound advice, thanks !

[@Space-Stuff]

Hey Dillon, I really like your new rig! It's been quite a while since I've visited your YT channel, (sorry about that). I have a, now I'll fated, Meade 14" LX850, that I purchased many years ago now, that I use for mainly the planets and the Moon. I also have two Explorer Scientific clones, ED 127mm x 952mm triplet refractors, both setup with all ZWO components including AM5 Mounts, TC40 Tripods with PE200 Pier Extensions, ASI Air Pluses, EAF's, EFW's, and a ASI2600MC Pro on the night time rig and ASI432MM on top of a Daystar H-alpha chromosphere filter on my Solar rig. Both are dedicated setups. One is for night time stuff and the other is setup for Solar. I love doing the Solar stuff. The Sun is just awesome and so dynamic, especially now that we are into the peak of Solar Maximum cycle. On my Solar setup I use the Hinode gear for tracking the Sun and I love it. I also love doing the night time stuff as well, because there is just SO MUCH STUFF out there just waiting to be explored and captured! I wish I didn't have to get, some, sleep, at some point, because I'd be going from one setup to the other every day and night, as long as the cloud gods, so to speak, allowed it!. So, I live in Florida, and as you may have heard, we've had quite an active hurricane season this year. I live on a canal that comes off our St. Johns river, which flows, very slowly, north, and I've had to deal with a flooding situation this year. But, thankfully, I'm about done with all that and ready to get my Astronomy gear back out and enjoying all the splendor of our amazing universe! Well, I could keep going on here with my comments so, I'll try to cut it, kinda, short. Anyway, I just wanted to say "Hey and Congrats" on the new 14" and accessories! By the way, have you ever tried Astrospheric for your seeing conditions forecasts? It's what I use, for many years now, and I find it extremely accurate and loaded with very relevant information for seeing, transparency and clouds. Plus it has a lot of other very cool stuff on it's website. If you haven't, check it out sometime. You may find it useful. URL: www.astrospheric.com/ Sincerely, Rich Williams Astor, Florida 32102 USA!

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey welcome back rich and thanks for all the great info! I’ll check it out :)

[@rosscayley8773]

Astrospheric is North America only. Dylan lives in somewhere that isn't America.....;).

[@Space-Stuff]

​@@rosscayley8773 Yeah, he lives in Australia. I never knew Astrospheric was North America only. That's too bad because it's a great app/website!

[@HeerlenPete]

SharpCap also has planet guiding if you buy the pro version

[@DylanODonnell]

I have the pro version! I’ll research harder.

[@Badge319]

I'm impressed you got some shots - Im an hour and a half north of you and its been cloudy for so long I forgot I had telescopes..all of them.

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh dude .. absolutely nothing lately.

[@luisrivera-lopez3648]

Dylan, I really watch and listen to your videos because they are very useful. I have an NexStar8SE/CGEMII and planning to keep it to see what is the best it can offer in terms of astrophotography. Thank you for sharing your insights.

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey thanks !

[@ivolol]

Some still love to see the escapism and journey of others even if they can't afford it themselves. As long as you stay grounded it's still fun to watch). Also like that you pay attention to more affordable gizmo's in the hobby every so often.

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks .. that’s the idea !

[@samfurnos5852]

This is too much ... Dylan, you are a master class!! 🤣😂😅

[@DylanODonnell]

Hehe thx !

[@AMoose454]

American here. Will be blocking out all the bickering shooting in my backyard the 4 non cloudy days Michigan gets this next 4 months. Started buying in 2018 and finally up and running next week. Career and life got the best of me but having the most fun in a while shooting the moon while I wait for my ASIAIR and Guide scope

[@luboinchina3013]

That is opposite of northern China. We get the best weather in winter and you can expect more than half of the nights be imaging nights with temperatures ranging from 0C to -25C at night.

[@SKYST0RY]

Which camera are you considering for your C14?

[@DylanODonnell]

None until prices come down .. just gotta bin and work with what I have !

[@stefanschneider3681]

Step by step is my approach as well! If someone asks me "Where do I start?" I say: Get yourself a little tripod that can hold your phone steady and start from there. Try things out, places, constellations, and look if in a month or two you still have fun loosing sleep in summer or freezing your a.. off in winter. These little beasts with all the so called "AI" in processing can do wonders - adding that AI for me has nothing to do with intelligence but with well developed algorithms, but anyway. Next get yourself a camera, even a pocket camera, where you can manually adjust the settings, and a better tripod. And if you still enjoy it, then enter the rabbit hole of fancy cameras, lenses, star trackers, mounts, finally telescopes and so on. Thanks for the vid as always!

[@DylanODonnell]

Yep, budget astro is getting better all the time !

[@kmh032008]

How’s that large of scope / image scale work with seeing? I wish there were mono large sensor large pixel cameras available.

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh me too, I was binning with the c11 to get a better image scale .. and now the seeing matters so much more !

[@giuseppiallegro]

Not OK. Not at all OK. Hoping for the meteor.

[@simonpepper5053]

A c14 on its own would set UK buyers back 12000 dollars today and it’s been that way since 2010! Is the US finally catching up with EMEA pricing?

[@DylanODonnell]

My thoughts too! Au is already almost double what USA pays.

[@simonpepper5053]

@ 😭

[@briantheprimateastro]

I am an American, but I was wondering if you have a guest house I could live in for the next four or so years. I mean, even if it is a sleeping bag on the floor of your observatory LOL I can help spray for bugs and keep the spider webs down while staying in there LOL

[@sark-]

@@briantheprimateastro hopefully it's only 4 years 🤦‍♂️ dangerous precedents looking to he set here...

[@DylanODonnell]

😆 .. oh man ... good luck! 😬

[@StangspringDK]

Funnelweb and red back spiders or Trump and his wacky cabinet of his closest lackeys. Should be an easy choice.

[@luboinchina3013]

There are plenty of empty and cheap apartments in here (China). Clear and dry nights from January till March. And you can teach English too 😂

[@RM-il5bv]

America is going to be more than fine but feel Free to leave if you want.

[@blobrana8515]

Such a monster telescope; even the Aberdeen university observatory has only a 10" LX200 .... Perhaps you can open a university department around your observatory?

[@DylanODonnell]

hehe good idea

[@chriscausseaux4793]

Sharpcap has auto guide but getting it consistently working is always a challenge… Thanks for the videos Bud!

[@DylanODonnell]

Ahh I see .. I need to see if it’s viable .. firecap is pretty rock solid.

[@ericpitt3876]

American fan of your channel. The majority voted and even though we have differences I’m still your friend.

[@DylanODonnell]

That’s how it should be my man .. whatever side of the aisle 🫡

[@collinsfriend1]

They were scammed.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's awesome Dylan!!! You make me want to dust off my C9.25 and do full time imaging of Saturn. Too bad the seeing here permanently sucks...

[@DylanODonnell]

Seeing is the worst ! But I’m going to persist .. even if I only get one good night in a season!

[@The_Vinceable]

1:55 dang bro, went straight for the jugular. 😂 anyway wish I could have been at your talk in NZ. Next time!

[@stevenemert837]

Thanks for asking, Dylan. No, we're not ok.

[@anderson.krs95]

Here in Brazil, we already have 92% tarifs on top of any imported product. Getting these large telescopes is out of reach most of us :( Hopefully I managed to get a 9.25 SCT

[@DylanODonnell]

Wow, really? And I guess nobody is looking to spin up a telescope factory in Brazil at scale even though there are 200M people? What's the point of the tariff?

[@Ben_Stewart]

That's some nice girth there but is that water or rust on the Alt Az rod?

[@DylanODonnell]

There are definitely parts that rust over. Everything should be galvanized!

[@tsk1979]

We will all buy Vixen now :p

[@paigecfrancis]

I forgot about the potential price hikes. Gonna have to put an am3 in my cart for my solar imaging forthwith 😮

[@DylanODonnell]

It’s a good excuse :)

[@paigecfrancis]

@ that’s all I need 😁. Cheers

[@dasimcoes]

No worries here.

[@danreind]

For auto guide using sharpcap, I've been running phd2 off guide stars in the OAG or guide scope. But perhaps even that is too coarse at 3800mm?

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh I need to guide on the planet itself .. slightly different rate.

[@bofblog]

Hopefully weather improves, a new disturbance in the South Equatorial Belt on Jupiter

[@DylanODonnell]

Ohh great!

[@paulsmaglik5063]

Need to setup a remote hosting site in Australia that can be affordable. Buy some land in the outback and setup a site like StarFront Observatories in Texas. Just an idea!

[@DylanODonnell]

Great idea :)

[@ooberholzer]

Hey!!! Nice to meet you, love the vibe ;)

[@DylanODonnell]

Welcome friend!

[@michaeljonwilliams6685]

Another American here. RFK Jr for Health and Human Services - we really are all going to die. Also, would you be interested in the subletting part of your observatory to an American ex-pat? 😂😭

[@DylanODonnell]

Lollllll

[@matt54321100]

cool website. Love your work.

[@noreaction1]

Half of us are overly positive, the other half are overly negative. Most people are waiting to see how it all pans out either way

[@FrancoGrimoldi]

Like it didn't happen 8 years ago...

[@user-ku4yk4ut4z]

Half of us are stupid and forgot the past and the other half of us tried to save the US..... AGAIN!!!

[@Diponty]

Gee if we only had something to guide us...UNO like the 2016 election.

[@iamcomcy]

Actually, mirrors for telescopes like yours and larger ARE made in the US. Lenses ARE made in the US. If demand is here, and surely it is, a telescope, made all in America could be stood up rather quickly.

[@DylanODonnell]

I hope so !

[@mattpenn3972]

surely... any time now...

[@m1thumb]

We're finer than frog hair here in the US. BTW we got televue, stellarvue, obsession, astrophysics, planewave, and more. Whacha got down there, Big Tube? 😅

[@DylanODonnell]

lol

[@AncientelectronsO]

No, we are definitely not okay. Could I please come and stay with you for four years? ;-)

[@DylanODonnell]

Hehe

[@weegieb]

America here. Next stop boom!

[@Wombatzone31]

I'll dream with you mate!! Throw me on the telescope production floor!!!

[@DylanODonnell]

Let’s fucking go !

[@KamilKeski]

America here, we are definitely not ok. But we're not gonna give up and we're going to keep working on it.

[@ronm6585]

Thank you sir.

[@matthewbaker7513]

America checking in, no, it's bad thanks. The concern is well received. Also your telescopes are small and you should get bigger ones, signed- a visual astronomer

[@DylanODonnell]

Haaaaa

[@whyf16uy]

The reports of our death are greatly exaggerated

[@DylanODonnell]

lol

[@jeffculp2197]

The C14 has always been my dream scope! I started astronomy about 55 years ago when San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers was the thing! The C14 was only a dream on the back of Sky & Telescope magazine. All guiding was manual, and we had to "push" our ASA 1600 or 400 film to get even faint objects to appear. Yes, I'm dating myself! However I have the pleasure of seeing the radical growth of tech and interest in this fascinating field. Thanks, Dylan for being an active catalyst to encourage our collective sharing and learning. We all have opinions. As a pilot I don’t think my passengers cared to hear about my beliefs or values. They just wanted to get from A to B safely. May I suggest we keep our political opinions (and perhaps religious as well) to ourselves…otherwise we run the risk of further alienating one another. Let's be more socially graceful and love the things we have in common (astro!), and put aside all the other things that divide and foster disagreements. We can do better! Cheers - from the other side of the world!

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh I know :) thankfully this isn’t my day job, but most of us like you and me can still be friends from either side of the aisle.

[@Diponty]

Elon: Forget abut those cheap and nasty imported telescopes. Try our new ground-breaking telescope range made in the USA, no not Mexico, THE USA. It is possible for a small telescope (under 14" aperture) to have adaptive optics (AO), Hell yes! fitted as standard on the new ultra fast bi focal telescope range Elon has designed together with cutting edge Space X technology. LOL Bi focal in our case means 2 f ratios. Prime F2 and Schmidt Cassegrain, F10 as standard. Crisp needle sharp images of deep space objects and planetary observations easily done and also included is AIX. Artificial Intelligence in a scope. Say a command move to object M32 and commence optimum exposures to produce detail to mag 16. AIX "Sorry M32 is below the horizon could I suggest M1, M32 will be available in 5 hours at a declination suitable for photography and cloud cover at that time will be minimal as well as the Dew point being low." But how can we keep the cost of such an innovation so low. Well. AI designing and sourcing local materials that have NO tariffs, that's how.

[@mechkiller31st]

No... we are not ok... please send an Emu army

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha

[@Tony-sq4je]

I have been a subscriber for a while now and thought this channel was about astronomy not politics, and as a disabled senior citizen I remember how much easier life was back then so I am looking forward to the next 4 years

[@DylanODonnell]

Life is diverse and full of wonder :) I hope we can still be friends.

[@weegieb]

Can I live in your observatory? PLEASE!

[@MrWacha]

You do realise your Calculator is broken, right? I mean lad, that Moon picture for FoV is upside down...

[@DylanODonnell]

Hahaha you had me there

[@hackeroftoday]

America here, no we are not ok

[@rickolson1738]

if the telescope makers have a brain. they'll relocate back to places like Japan, Germany, anywhere but China. it won't take long to figure out. it is to bad Orion didn't figure that out. grat's on the new scope!

[@nightwaves3203]

Don't buy anymore big gear. We need the clouds and rain to stop.

[@Zeyervv]

Gosh thats big

[@Talalpro_1]

Thats what she said

[@dvsrn1]

American here and no. No we are not OK. We're sad and frightened and so, so sorry.

[@DylanODonnell]

Be safe my dude.

[@keithhanssen7413]

We’re not okay. But hopefully we will be okay after 4 years.

[@Arcteek]

You including visual astronomy in your calculator is the most frustrated I've been with your channel. Hands down.

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha they probably aren’t the target audience for a calculator either :)

[@math2cool]

Have you heard this one? What borders on idiotic? Canada and Mexico. 😂

[@iwicaks]

Aren't you gonna ask your northern Neighbors?

[@DylanODonnell]

Papua New Guinea? 😆

[@frankenstein77777]

🍌

[@MrGp3po]

We American Independent voters are just fine. Don’t believe all the overheated rhetoric. Liberal hand wringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth is a waste of energy for those of us with memories longer than eight years.

[@r.fortner4661]

Billionaires have always been in control! You didn't know? Maybe with that long focal length you're zooming into the wrong things, size queen! Back off the trees and take in the Forrest!

[@DylanODonnell]

Harris’s tax returns were interesting .. she doesn’t make much more than the upper middle class. Same for our current Prime Minister.

[@mykol68]

sadly UK weather doesnt allow you long enough to do science lol

[@DylanODonnell]

Oh man hah

[@The13rannon]

Always one upping me 😑 I get an EQ8-R you get the EQ8-Rh, I get a C11 you get a C14…

[@DylanODonnell]

I am always watching.

[@Astro_Ape]

If I wasn't poor, I'd move far, far away from Trump's Land of MAGA..... 😢

[@FosterFarmsOk]

America is doing fantastic now

[@luboinchina3013]

For now😂

[@johnmcbryde715]

Life's a piece of shit When you look at it Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true You'll see it's all a show Keep 'em laughin' as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you And....

[@leonfisher]

Monty!

[@ekalbkr]

No, we are definitely NOT okay. Though half of our country is jubilant, only the richest one percent will prosper. And yes, I'm purchasing my next telescope promptly..🏃

[@DylanODonnell]

💪🏼

[@bluecelox]

Dylan, I have been watching and enjoying your videos for several years and have own a C14 EdgeHD. Since you have shown how you feel about something you know nothing about I will never watch another video of yours. Good job pissing off 74 million people.

[@lilithgaither9603]

No America is not okay HA HA HA HA. Say, how's the weather in Byron Bay? And, the grocery prices.... And, the human rights and stuff....

[@DylanODonnell]

Prices could be lower .. but I think that’s a global thing. All good otherwise :)

[@michs1708]

great ad, maybe move astro next time.

[@Michael_H_Webb]

Doing fine, we will be even better. We have an inflation spike already in progress so _everything_ costs more. Reboot of the economy should steer the inflation index downward and bring all prices down. Tariff talks is about equalizing competition. Idea is that, like Toyota and other successful companies, Chinese can invest capital on US soil, avoid tariffs and still make money (it's not like they're NOT buying real estate in the US); or .... they will be forced to compete with US interests on their own merit and profitability model without their government's subsidies. Ever pay to ship something back to China after getting free shipping on the order? Ever figure why is that? Further, lots of Americans willing to pay more for Made In The USA label. How much does a Takahashi telescope cost? Do they have any problems selling in the US? Not always abut buying the cheapest product for the lowest price, and you should be an evangelist for that in astronomy. We'd be better off without Bird-Jones and spherical mirrors requiring loads of correction anyways IMHO. Be well.

[@DylanODonnell]

Good points :)

[@sark-]

I hadn't heard about the brand collapse 😮 where have I been? Also, yeah, we're a painfully stupid country and we seem very eager to prove it as often as possible.

[@DylanODonnell]

I have a video about the Meade / Orion / Coronado situation .. end of an era!

[@cajunsushi]

We are not only stupid but short term thinking instead of planning for the long haul. Carl Sagan was correct that we’re getting dumber as a population.

[@SimoWill75]

​@@cajunsushi Ever seen the movie 'Idiocracy'? It's turning into a documentary.

[@XX-vs6lt]

I love you Dylan O'Cooler. U make me smile. Just a bit

[@DylanODonnell]

I love you too

[@WiLNorCaL]

Planewave... USA made..yes more money, but different class....

[@DylanODonnell]

Billionaires :)

[@Lasastard]

Been happy with FireCapture, for the most part - but due to this thing called "weather", I don't get to use it as much as I would like.. On a different note, with you being located directly at the beach - I suspect the C14 will be severely limited by your seeing. Did you do any calculations on that? LIke, what sort of seeing do you get on a "good" night?

[@DylanODonnell]

Oh I agree .. the perfect nights here are rarrrrre!

[@highspeedboom]

Trade deficits are too large so the government wants the tariffs, as far as Trump to Biden to Trump again the tariff amount to China has not changed much. So yeah we have been paying more. They hope this gives companies more incentive to hire workers in the USA to make manufacturing

[@Mandragara]

It's bad policy. I think each new job cost America close to a million dollars a year? Creating the jobs directly is better

[@musa7606]

@@Mandragara How do you "create the jobs directly"? Often, government funded jobs are wastes of money. You do that because its essential/beneficial, not economic.

[@highspeedboom]

@@Mandragara I think us astrophotographers guys in the United States are stuck paying more. Stuff is already expensive before the Tariffs, only hope would be a made in USA alternative but that’s not up to the level of Rasa scopes

[@tmrdarkstar85]

I hate we consider this a hobby. There is no hobby you buy nothing but scientific equipment to do it. Also without us amateur astronomers the professionals would be screwed they relay on citizen science so much i find it very hard to call this a hobby. We are all doing science even if its just taking a pretty picture, discoveries in the data are found all the time. We are also historians because we are recording the past before its gone. On to the tariffs yeah I am trying to muster up funds to pick up a new qhy guide camera and a dedicated solar camera before Jan 6th. Honestly I wish the tariffs were not on scientific grade equipment. Also I feel QHY should get an exception since they quite often provide Nasa with camera's for missions. Just look at New Horizons that used the QHY 174GPS

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh that’s literally what my talk was about! Amateur astronomer doesn’t mean “not a real astronomer”. It means self funded.

[@tmrdarkstar85]

Someday I will catch one of your talks. I am also stealing that line because not only is it true I love it an it needs to be spread.

[@DylanODonnell]

@@tmrdarkstar85true! I just tweeted it - thanks for the inspo

[@leonarddaneman810]

Here is a multi-beer philosophical question: Is it better to have wealthy citizens (who know how to manage businesses and build things, forget Blackrock) get richer, or for the government to get richer? Which scenario will guarantee the freedom, security and prosperity of society as a whole? Let the beers begin.

[@luboinchina3013]

Rich people never care about the poor. They were usually born into their wealth so they have NO CLUE how difficult the life can be. They also never pay their share of taxes because of the loopholes they created by lobbying corrupted politicians. They just want to get richer. And at last where in your options was a bankrupt businessman? If you want to have a working government, don't vote for convicted felon, business man or politician Vote for a scientist, or true economics professor, preferably pragmatic atheist who won't be easily corrupted by all those fanatic religious groups and hoax theories believing in nonsense while denying real science.

[@thesnitch7]

so you're saying that those are the only two scenarios?

[@leonarddaneman810]

@@thesnitch7 More simply put, can a citizen or corporation be worth more than the government? Well, Tesla/SpaceX is worth billions while the U.S. government is trillions in debt, but borrows billions at a time. The government in some cities comprises 50% of the workforce . . . Musk fires 80% of Twitter . . . so, who runs things better (defense, energy, health, education), someone like Musk or politicians like Biden.

[@frankenstein77777]

​@@leonarddaneman810There are things in life more important than the financial bottom line...safe schools, gun free society, universal health care, a livable minimum wage not dependent on customer tips...I could go on and on. Sure, America can choose whatever lifestyle it wants, but please don't think it's the only way and that the rest of the world idolises you...we don't.

[@leonarddaneman810]

@@frankenstein77777 You obviously have never run a restaurant, read history and confiscating guns is the first step to fascism . . . Doctors spend 12 years for full certification and then citizens and law schooled politicians claim they have a Right to control their services and how much they charge? Let doctors run healthcare. Government is not some non-profit, but steal from some to give to others. That only worked for Robin Hood. If government is to be involved, the individual states have authority to oversee and regulate healthcare premium subscriptions for their citizens. But no government has the right to mandate doctor care . . . that is fascism. Doctors are smart people . . . right? In fact, they sued to block mRNA and the right to prescribe Hydroxychloroquine which would have stopped the pandemic in its tracks, but big government threatened their licenses to protect mRNA and the NIH.

[@mark2220]

Way ahead of you. Bought a second mount, 2600mc, guide camera and asiair before I really wanted to, anticipating the chubby orange maga jesus ruining this hobby here in the states.

[@DylanODonnell]

You’re onto it !

[@drunk_astronomy]

No!! We’re not OK. We’re in fact anything but OK. Dylan, can I please live in your observatory? I’ll keep your optics clean and prevent bats from shitting on your new C14.

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha .. I'm so sorry

[@drunk_astronomy]

@ Yea thanks and all joking aside. fyi, I haven’t used it yet, but I believe feature tracking is available on sharp cap now. It claims that you can track high-speed imaging of solar, lunar, and planetary. Ohh and may the flying spaghetti monster have mercy on us all…

[@luboinchina3013]

​@@drunk_astronomyAmen

[@Diponty]

Maybe America can make their own telescopes. Gee who would have thought? Elon's new optics company. AstroX. TDS aside! Are you OK?