Interactive astronomy, a Virtual Observatory in which to explore realistic skies in real time, complete with observing log and list builder, telescope optics, customizable reports, live ephemeris, location browser, and a sophisticated search embracing planets, comets, DSOs, and over 15500 stars. Stella delivers atmospheric effects such as scintillation, refraction, and extinction in realistic, spotlight, and the new photoplate sky display styles. Subtler color gradations accurately reflect a star's true nature, and the complete Messier catalog in ImageIcons, animation modes, multiple toolbars, custom and online options, and the facility to display JPEG imagery in response to mouse-clicks on a wide range of celestial objects completes Stella's essential feature set. Stella sports 3 new and expanded star catalogues. A permanent level-one database, the HR Bright Star Catalogue (Hoffleit & Warren, 1991) is present in both the shareware and registered versions of Stella 2000, supplemented by a 7000 star selection from the ultra-modern ESA Hipparcos satellite sky survey. Stella can be expanded still further with the optional Hipparcos / SAO data extensions, all the way from magnitude 7.0 to those stars beyond magnitude 12 resolvable by that most popular of amateur telescopes the 4.5" reflector. But recent enhancements have transformed Stella 2000 from an already comprehensive planetarium and practical observing suite into something more. Integral access to two multimedia reference classics -- the Concise HTML Dictionary of Astronomy and Coeli Solar Guide -- along with a telescope optics section, amount to nothing less than an informational paradigm shift: Stella 2000 finally achieves a breakthrough in the ready accessibility of advanced astronomical knowledge by bringing the Cosmos to everyone's fingertips.

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