Stellarium | Stars, Planets, Constellations

Stellarium allows you to place yourself anywhere in the world to watch the constellations travel across the sky above. Stellarium also allows you to pause, fast-forward or rewind time to see what the stars do. (Link)

There are some very cool videos on youtube that showcase what it can do:

Open software behind open science

This article on Tech dirt (via Glyn Moody) has a good exploration of the importance of open source software to the open science movement:

"Although the traditional image of a science laboratory typically consists of a room full of test tubes or microscopes, the reality is that computers now play a central role there, just as they do for business and life in general.

Computers need software, and some of that software will be specially written or adapted from existing code to meet the particular needs of the scientists' work. This makes computer software a vital component of the scientific process. It also means that being able to check that code for errors is as important as being able to check the rest of the experiment's methodology. And yet very rarely can other scientists do that, because the code employed is not made available."

World Wind: Open Source Google Earth?

World Wind is by no means as full-featured as Google Earth, but if you just want to play Atlas and spin the world around, it's a good option. To install under Linux, look for worldwind in the software channels, but the java version of the software runs on any platform. Best thing about it is that the software is open source and the imagery is not owned and copyrighted by [insert giant corporation here]. There are some nice Java webstart demos here too: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/java/demos/ showing things like loading .kml files, mapping elevations, annotations, geo-mapped photos, earthquake information etc.