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Category Archives: Astronomy

Big Data Course-Spring: Unit 13: Lesson 13: Astronomy and Physics Use Cases I – Video

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Big Data Course-Spring: Unit 13: Lesson 13: Astronomy and Physics Use Cases I
This covers Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS): a digital, panoramic, synoptic sky survey; DOE Extreme Data from Cosmological Sky Survey and Simulati...

By: Big Data Applications and Analytics MOOC

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Big Data Course-Spring: Unit 13: Lesson 13: Astronomy and Physics Use Cases I - Video

Astronomy Forecast-Asteroids, Fireballs, Supernova M82, and Youngest Galaxy Abell 2744 – Video

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Astronomy Forecast-Asteroids, Fireballs, Supernova M82, and Youngest Galaxy Abell 2744
February 10, 2014 2006 DP14 0.0160 AU 6.2 LD Size 460m-1.0km Close Approach 7:05 p.m. UT 31 Fireball/Meteor Sights for February 9 10, 2014 Alpha Centaurids...

By: Sarah Hockensmith

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Astronomy Forecast-Asteroids, Fireballs, Supernova M82, and Youngest Galaxy Abell 2744 - Video

Farmer, astronomer, climate change sceptic mourned

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Feb. 14, 2014, 4 a.m.

ASTRONOMY and a penchant for political debate will be remembered tomorrow by family and friends as they reflect on the life of Portland region farmer Don Ward.

ASTRONOMY and a penchant for political debate will be remembered tomorrow by family and friends as they reflect on the life of Portland region farmer Don Ward.

The regular contributor to The Standards letters page died suddenly last week aged 73. His funeral is scheduled to be held tomorrow morning at Warrnambools Anglican Church.

Mr Ward was a Victorian Astronomical Society member and contributed to the associations journal for a number of years, as well as other publications.

He became known for his outspoken views on climate change and wrote dozens of letters to the editor on the subject.

Mr Wards sister Betty Stafford said her brothers interest in astronomy was stimulated by the beginnings of the American-Soviet space race in the late 1950s.

Don was fascinated by astronomy and invested a lot in his equipment. He even built his own telescope as a teenager, Mrs Stafford said.

He also had firm views on global warming and climate change.

Don wrote so many letters to the editor, I think we lost count of how many he contributed.

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Farmer, astronomer, climate change sceptic mourned

Distro Astro Is a Stunning Star Voyager

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Distro Astro 2.0 is an excellent Linux OS to learn about the basics of a simple desktop environment as well as explore the marvels of the universe. It is also an excellent all-in-one Linux platform for astronomy enthusiasts and professional astronomers alike with some of the best celestial-studying software included. Distro Astro is an impressive and solidly performing Linux distro.

The Linux desktop offers distributions for many diverse interests and specialties. Distro Astro is for astronomy enthusiasts.

The latest version, Distro Astro 2.0, is dubbed "Pallas." It was released Nov. 20, 2013, at the South East Asian Young Astronomers Collaboration conference in Bandung, Indonesia. It is a major upgrade focusing on refinements for professional astronomers.

The next release, version Juno 3.0, is due next November. It will focus on the needs of amateur stargazers.

Astronomy software falls into two broad categories. It is designed either for amateur or for professional astronomers. Distro Astro addresses both of these user groups.

Generally, the best amateur astronomy software is written for Microsoft Windows. However, the Linux platform provides the best professional strength astronomy software. This Pallas release gives both amateur and professional astronomers a means of bridging that software divide.

This distro release supports the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and Microsoft's Secure Boot extension. This means you can install Distro Astro 2.0 as a dual boot on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

Earlier Distro Astro versions could not dual boot with Windows 8. So this Pallas version could become a smooth migration path for astronomers of all stripes looking to run the best available astronomy software for both platforms.

While I am very conversant with both Linux and Windows OSes, I am less than a newbie on all things related to astronomy. So I walked a long-time colleague through Distro Astro. My cohort is an avid Mac user and devoted astronomy buff.

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Distro Astro Is a Stunning Star Voyager


  1. Astronomy