Hi folks,

This is only loosely related to Guide, but...

I just got a Circular from the Minor Planet Center, announcing the
discovery of a nova in Aquila (about 2 degrees north of Delta Aquilae).
It's the second found in Aquila this year, and is therefore known as
Nova Aquilae 1999 #2. The Circular itself is posted at:

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/07300/07323.html

I mention it here because it's already nearing mag 5 and appears to
be getting brighter (it was discovered only a few hours ago!) Naked-eye
novae aren't amazingly rare, but they aren't too common, either.

It's at R.A. = 19h23m05s.38, Decl. = +4 57'20".1 (J2000). If you
wish, you can just save the following three lines to a file such as
NOVA_AQL.MAR in your Guide directory:

999 name Nova Aquilae 1999 #2
1 ra 69.227583
2 dec 4.955583

(I generated this by entering the above RA/dec, saving a mark file,
then pruning everything from the mark file except the name and RA/dec.)
Guide will automatically add the new .MAR file to its list in "Load a Mark".

I learned about this on a nice, clear night, about half an hour
after Aquila had set. I predict clouds here for the next week. Hope
the rest of you have better luck.

-- Bill