Lahti, Finland, September 1 1998
Swimming Elk Software announce the release of version 3.0 of their popular and acclaimed astronomy application Stella 2000 and version 2.0 of Adastra.
"Sooner or later we were going to have to bend to all the wishes of our users," was the arch observation of Roger Hughes, Stella's chief developer, "Not only by way of a sweeping data refurbishment from the ground up, but with a veritable informational paradigm shift. We believe that with version 3.0 of Stella 2000, we have achieved a breakthrough in the ready accessibility of advanced astronomical knowledge. I'm of course referring our acquisition of the New Windows Dictionary of Astronomy and Visual Planets, both now integral to our flagship Coeli products."
As additional support Hughes cites the presence of features like Stella's integral observing log and list building facilities, the brand new Observing Tonight window complete with telescope optics, a live ephemeris, 2 animation modes, and the Complete Messier Catalog in Image Icons, accompanied by effects such as scintillation (twinkling), atmospheric refraction and extinction, precession, and accurate visual representation of every star's colour index. " Couple this with the ability to record and plan your real-sky observations quickly and conveniently and you have an astronomical package with a power-to-price ratio second to none."
