--- In guide-user@yahoogroups.com, Paul Schlyter <pausch@s...> wrote:

>
> If you want to include only naked-eye celestial objects it's easy
> enough.
>
> But if you also want to include faint NEO's, this calculation would
> include a search through a fairly large database of known NEO's,
> making sure you use up-to-date orbital elements, or performing a
> numerical integration to update these elements.
>

Hello Paul,

I am interested in non-artificial objects, mainly asteroids and comets
for such a list. As Guide already knows how to calculate their
positions i would not expect the feature to be that difficult to
implement.

Depending on the "home" position used for the search, a reasonable
selection of all the orbital elements could be made to avoid computing
all the orbits, using the major axis and excentricity of the orbit.

I just thought this would be a nice feature, imagining some
presentation to customers at our public observatory:

"we are looking at mars now, which is nearing opposition, when it will
be only X million kilometers away from earth. Interestingly, there are
actually Y named asteroids which are nearer then mars today, according
to this list created with the GUIDE8 software.
The brightest of these is ..., which we have imaged yesterday, see the
trail on the image..."

Regards, Martin