Guide 6.0
Guide 6.0 is now shipping.
Shipping data
The CDs (finally!) arrived here on 30 September. About half were shipped that day, and the remaining half were shipped on 1 October, clearing the backlog of orders. (A very few "special cases" requiring more handling, such as UPS orders to South Africa via registered mail, will take another day or two... but 99% of the orders are now shipped.)
I apologize to everyone who took my mid-August predicted release date at face value; I really did expect that this date would offer ample time to get Guide 6 fully written and tested, with the manual written, a sample CD made and sent to the manufacturer, and the copied CDs sent here. As it was, all of these steps took longer than expected.
What it does
Perhaps the largest improvement is the use of Hipparcos data in place of PPM data and the display of nebulae with their true shapes.
The Hipparcos data provides high-quality astrometry and photometry for over 1 million stars. This dataset represents an immense leap from previous datasets; in fact, you can probably expect most astronomy software packages to undergo a version change simply due to the release of this new catalogue.
Nebulae have long been a source of trouble in Guide, because they are shown as squares instead of in their true shapes. In cooperation with Eric-Sven Vesting of the Astro-Shop in Hamburg, high-quality isophotes have being generated, and the catalogs are being revised and cross-referenced.
Many smaller improvements have been made in Guide 6.0 as well. The asteroid database was updated to include the latest elements and numbering, with a new total of 32,760 asteroids (7,805 numbered). The galaxy data was almost totally revised, with the new PGC-1996 resulting in a total of over 100,000 galaxies. Several other galaxy, open cluster, nebula, variable star, and galaxy cluster databases had been updated since Guide 5.0 was made, and Guide 6.0 incorporated these changes.
Of course, all the changes that have appeared in the updated software on these pages also appear in Guide 6.0. (It is also quite certain that, even before the CDs reach customers, new software improvements will be made, much as nearly continuous updates were available for Guide 5.)
Price increase
With the arrival of Guide 6, the price was increased from $69 to $89. There is still no shipping/handling cost inside the US. The cost for air mail shipping/handling outside the US is an additional $3, for a total of $92.
Upgrading from earlier versions
Upgrade notices were sent by postal mail to all current Guide customers, offering an upgrade at a discounted price of $30 (no shipping/handling).
Updates to 6.0 on this site
People following this site know that an immense amount of updated functionality was provided for 5.0 over the last year. This policy will definitely continue; new software for Guide 6.0, with a variety of extended features, will be uploaded to this site. Some small ones have already been made, and a list of future plans has been posted to give you some idea as to what can be expected in the coming months.