Hi folks,

A long message here regarding GSC-2.2 access, outlines for
Barnard Dark Nebulae, updated notes from Steve Coe, and display
of Sky Commander alignment stars. In order:

GSC-2.2 ACCESS/DISPLAY:

Looks as if GSC-2.2 access is working as long as you grab the
updated GSC22.ZIP file from the Web site... which is about as I
expected; I've updated the instructions, which are still at

http://www.projectpluto.com/gsc22.htm

to reflect all this. (I've also added some comments about
astrometric accuracy and fixing the missing toolbar button.)

Tonight, I've posted an updated GSC22.ZIP, for several reasons.
The existing one didn't let you reset the color of the ellipses,
and had no labelling option. (The new version labels with the
magnitudes. GSC-2.2 has a numbering system, but it's almost
ludicrously awkward.) Also, Giuliano Pinto has translated the
GSC-2.2 info into Italian, so you'll see comments in that language
when you switch Guide to Italian.

OUTLINES FOR BARNARD DARK NEBULAE:

These are described and available at

http://www.projectpluto.com/extras.htm#bdn

Bertrand Laville has used Guide's overlay system to put together
outlines of most of the prominent BDN objects, so they are shown
with actual shapes instead of as boxes.

UPDATED NOTES FROM STEVE COE:

Steve has kindly sent me a floppy with an updated version of his
notes, including a couple of additional constellations and a slew
of additional objects. If you download this file (about 220 KBytes):

http://www.projectpluto.com/stevecoe.zip

and unZIP it in your Guide directory, you'll be brought up to
date. (And the missing constellation of Scutum, mentioned by John
Malcomson, will be fixed. My mistake; in COE.DAT, I used the
abbreviation "Scu", instead of the correct "Sct". <groan>)

Carina is still missing because there is no Carina file. I
still want to add more observation databases; maybe we can turn
up a Southern Hemisphere denizen willing to have observation data
shared in this manner.

SKY COMMANDER ALIGNMENT STARS:

Bill Anderson has provided the files needed to display the 39 stars
the Sky Commander can use for alignment. Details and files are at:

http://www.projectpluto.com/extras.htm#sky_comm

-- Bill