For the Epoch 2005 / 2006...
 Announcing the new Comet
and Asteroid Orbital Elements for Stella 2000.
Four years. Seems a long time to you? - you can be sure it's a lot longer for a comet! A considerable amount of tugging by the major planets has been going on since Epoch 2000, perturbing the delicate and often precarious orbits of these smaller bodies, which are little more than large lumps of rock and ice. This gravitional pull (by Jupiter particularly) has resulted in an increasing loss of precision in Stella's calculation of the true celestial positions of the comets and asteroids in your database. A multitude of skilled and dedicated amateurs around the world, in cooperation with professional astronomers, are continually reviewing, collating and updating the elements of each and every orbit known. They achieve this through regular observation and employment of complex computer algorithms applying differential calculus to obtain what are known as osculating elements. And from this year onward, Stella 2000 will also benefit from their painstaking work, bringing its fruits onto your screen. Just to give you an idea of the inaccuracies which have crept in with the older data, here is a quick comparison: A) Using your existing database: Asteroid: Isis Magnitude: 10.8 Observed at 3:32:50 Dec 1 2005 RA 21h 55m 42s DEC -21° 37' 23” Epoch: 2001/4/1.0 B) Now, calculated from the NEW 2005/2006 orbital elements: Asteroid: Isis Magnitude: 10.8 Observed at 3:32:50 Dec 1 2005 RA 21h 52m 52s DEC -21° 47' 27” Epoch: 2005/1/30.0 A difference of almost 10' of arc in Isis' declination! If you slewed your telescope to this coordinate, you'd certainly have a great deal of difficulty locating Isis, even if she appeared in your field at all... You'll be able to verify this abundantly for yourself after obtaining this important new data enhancement.* And along with these new revised orbital elements for almost two thousand asteroids and hundreds of comets, you'll also receive the COMPLETE SAO catalog of 300,000 stars as a bonus! Click HERE to obtain your 2006 orbital elements with the SAO today or Click HERE for the 2006 orbital elements WITHOUT the SAO Both these packs are self-installing, and the download link will be emailed to you on receipt of your order. This data enhancement is of course FREE for registered users of Stella. Please contact us to obtain your download links. Thank you for your continuing support and enthusiasm, both of which have helped us realize our dream of making Stella 2000 the best integrated astronomy suite for the PC. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Warmest regards and Clear Skies, Pete Chayleigh. Coeli Software Products.  * Please be aware that the Orbital Update can only be applied on Stella 2000 versions 6.00 or greater. Click HERE if you would like to upgrade to the NEW version 6.03 of Stella 2000 Extended Edition. If you own only Adastra, DeskNite, or Stella 2000 Standard, NOW is the time to experience the wonder of Stella Extended! |
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