Feb 19: BOINC Astro-Computing
I gave up on 'theSkyNet' last month (after sixteen months) because Java was prone to security issues. I was also fed up with the amount of manual intervention needed by this method. Updates to Java caused problems. Rebooting a computer meant having to restart Java for all the processors every time. Java often failed without me knowing and in some instances it became impossible to use a second processor. It was driving me nuts...
So BOINC processing is now proceeding full-time without interference from the Java SkyNet.
We have two members on the Macarthur Astronomical Society team and are hoping to recruit more. I find it hard to understand why so few people I know actually do volunteer their computer's idle time for science. The overall useage of BOINC worldwide saves scientists the added cost of purchasing the astonishing amount of processing time they now need for climate prediction, astronomy, particle accelerators, medical research and much more.
BOINC will run several projects related to astronomy and they all run seamlessly within the BOINC Manager. I recomend:
- 'Pogs Skynet', which combines the spectral coverage of UV-optical-NIR to creat a galaxy atlas for the nearby Universe.
- 'Seti' the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence
- 'Einstein' searching for new pulsars and gravity waves.
and there are other great projects for amateur astronomers to run including:
- 'Cosmology', creating a model of the entire Universe.
- 'Milky Way', creating a model of the Milky Way.
- 'Asteroids', improving our knowledge of small solar system bodies.
- 'LHC' Design research for the Large Hadron Collider.
It is up to you how many projects you run. I prefer to run several projects - because if one project runs out of work or its server fails, then you will still have work units from the other projects.
How to join BOINC and process data for science without any cost to you:
1. You first need to download the BOINC application from this address:
2a. When you have the BOINC manager up and running, open it, go to "Tools" then "Add Project or Account Manager" and select "Add Project." (you do not need an account manager).
You will see a list of projects to select and if you choose SETI or Einstein, follow the prompts and when you return to the BOINC manager you will see the project listed under the "projects" tab and work units should soon appear under the "Tasks" tab.
2b. To run Skynet "Pogs", instead of selecting it (it is not listed), copy the following address into the "Add Project" dialogue:
http://ec2-23-23-126-96.compute-1.amazonaws.com/pogs/
3. When you have got the BOINC manager running and have added one or more projects, you need to add yourself to the "Macarthur Astronomical Society" BOINC team.
To do this, go to the website of each project. Select "Community" and join Macarthur Astronomical Society.
