Hi Greg,

"...wouldn't it have been more correct to use the apparent
position in the QUICK INFO section ? I made the assumption
that it was."

Interesting thought. Unless mentioned otherwise, Guide
shows RA/dec in whatever epoch is selected in the RA/Dec
Format dialog. You get a choice there of J2000, B1950,
mean coordinates of date, or "other" (in case you want
something unusual such as J2025 or B1875). Ideally, there
would also be an "apparent of date" option.

The default is J2000. The vast majority of coordinates
cited in all places are now in J2000, with a few left over
from B1950. You _can_ specify mean coordinates of date,
and that'll get you something pretty close to apparent
coordinates of date (mean coordinates leave out the nutation
and aberration terms). Adding in apparent coordinates would
be a bit of a nuisance, which is the only reason it's not
in there right now: I'd have to rip up a lot of code, in
many places where Guide shows you an RA/dec.

I'd defend the J2000 default quite vigorously. Output
in apparent coordinates is sometimes necessary for some very
specific purposes (navigation, for example), but I'd say
that 99% of the time, people are looking for J2000 data.

-- Bill