Linux

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

just out of interest

anybody using/tried "Astronomy Linux 21.04" ?

geoff

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

hi geoff,
might try it in a vm tonight. looks like ubuntu 21.04 loaded up with linux astro software / drivers. although my gear is in storage atm so won't be able to test hardware connections.

cheers

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

so tried it out quickly in a VM, has absolutely just about every linux astro program ever and ones I didn't even know could work on linux.

way more than i didn't even know about. the rest of ubuntu has pretty much been stripped out to make it light weight (ram useage at idle is under 850mb - see image with htop showing ram useage ~817mb) which is good for lower spec computers.

my wifi also worked out of the box within a vm, which hasn't happened to me before - I usually have to be connected to ethernet so i can download drivers (not sure if this is astrolinux or ubuntu working the magic - but i think it's astrolinux).

ubuntu store didn't work, so you may have to install the snap store or similar through the terminal if you needed it (easy).

have provided some compressed screenshots below - (is in reverse order) obviously you can change the default wallpaper

asi studio managed to update fine and work.

cheers

russ

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

one thing i noticed

not one background picture related to astronomy - go figure

geoff

[AstralTraveller (David)]

I might give this a try in a spare partition. Can someone tell me the size of installed system and software.

Thanks, David.

[AstroViking (Steve)]

I dropped it into a virtual machine last night for a quick look. I allocated 20G, and half of that was used after installation and updating all the packages.

So, that's 10G and then all your image data on top.

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

i added a few basic linux "must have programs" and disk use was 21gb

geoff

[AstralTraveller (David)]

I finally got around to trying it. After installing the Mate desktop (I can't abide the default desktop) and a few extra apps I'm using 17.5GB. The latest build of AstroLinux is based on a build of Ubuntu so old that it is no longer supported, which is a bit disconcerting. I needed to go through two upgrade steps to be up-to-date. It went easy but it was an hour of watching progress bars creep along.

I haven't played with it for long but so far I'm happy with it. There is a bit of redundancy among the applications. For example there are stand-alone raw-to-fits converters but that functionality is found in several larger packages; same for fits viewers. There are also applications I'll never use, I think mostly for complex research uses. Overall though I think the convenience of having so many useful applications ready out-of-the box is worth the bit of space wasted on excess applications. YMMV

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

an hour is not much pain
how long does a windows update take these days ? - i used to hate doing them

geoff

[middy]

This thread is quite timely as I have been investigating using an Intel NUC (or some other mini PC) to control my mount and cameras in the observatory so that I can just remote in from inside the house. I must be getting old because standing around outside on a cold winter's night gets less and less appealing each year. I was originally thinking about putting Windows 10 on it but I baulked at the $250+ price tag for Win 10 Pro. That led me to thinking about Ubuntu and wondering if Linux versions existed for the software I use (Skychart: yes, PHD2: yes, ASI Studio: yes). So far so good. I guess the only question remaining is whether I can remote into Ubuntu easily from a Win 10 Home notebook.

This Astronomy Linux looks like just what the doctor ordered. I might install it onto an old PC I have lying around and test if I can remote desktop into it easily first before I buy the mini PC. Thanks for the heads up.

[Sunfish (Ray)]

You can control the Linux mini computer using VNC over a wireless network from a PC or IOS . I have done this with Armbian Linux. A little fiddle to get up but once you have the settings correct it works fine.

Originally Posted by middy

This thread is quite timely as I have been investigating using an Intel NUC (or some other mini PC) to control my mount and cameras in the observatory so that I can just remote in from inside the house. I must be getting old because standing around outside on a cold winter's night gets less and less appealing each year. I was originally thinking about putting Windows 10 on it but I baulked at the $250+ price tag for Win 10 Pro. That led me to thinking about Ubuntu and wondering if Linux versions existed for the software I use (Skychart: yes, PHD2: yes, ASI Studio: yes). So far so good. I guess the only question remaining is whether I can remote into Ubuntu easily from a Win 10 Home notebook.

This Astronomy Linux looks like just what the doctor ordered. I might install it onto an old PC I have lying around and test if I can remote desktop into it easily first before I buy the mini PC. Thanks for the heads up.