Hi Roger,

(4) Vesta is currently within 1.2 degrees of the Eskimo Nebula. You
didn't mention the time/date of the observation or the RA/dec computed
by Guide, so I'd mostly have to mumble on this one. A few general
comments, though (which apply almost any time there's a possible
problem with the location of a moving object in Guide... or, for that
matter, in most astronomy software:)

(1) Check under Settings... Location and make sure your 'home
planet' is Earth and that your lat/lon is correct. (If you're using a
recent version of Guide, this won't be such a problem, because the
title bar will tell you that you're "observing" from, say, Neptune.)

(2) Click on Settings... Time Menu... Time Format, or right-click
on the time zone shown in the legend. The 'calendar' in use ought to be
the Gregorian one.

(3) Check in general that the time, and time zone, set are correct.

Also, be warned: use of 'soft02bright' won't improve Guide's
elements. If anything, it will be a drawback, because those elements
are for a fixed epoch; if you attempted to investigate where a bright
asteroid was in the past, you'll lose the benefits of Guide's
pre-integrated orbital elements.

-- Bill