Hello,

some time ago I discovered that the "Himmelsjahr" in Germany has implemented new formulae for the calculation of the brightness of Venus and Mercury.

Have you planned to implement those even in Guide?
Venus turns to be now as bright as -4.9mag (when brightest) and Merkurius as faint as almost +7mag in inferior konjunction.

The according formulae can be found in "The Astronomical Journal, 129:2902–2906, 2005 June# 2005.

It would be great if even apparent diameters in " (arcseconds) could be shown when calculating ephemerides.


André Franke
(Meteorologist from Sweden and Germany)