If you hadn't heard, I've been busy redeveloping Orbital Calculator. The new version runs in 64-bit mode, and will be available on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The program is very near 'complete'. The database comes with six extra stars (the Alpha Centauri trinary system, Betelgeuse, Tau Ceti and Tabby's Star). The database itself is different from the v1 database, but the import system can recognise the old files and import them seamlessly, so your old data can easily be transferred.

There is also an import file you can download separately, containing 699 confirmed exoplanets with known size and mass downloaded from NASA.

As it is being rewritten in a new programming language, everything has been overhauled to make the program easier to use and more aesthetically pleasing. There are enhancements to existing features, and there are new features to play with. All known bugs loitering in the v1 system have been declined permission to migrate to the v2 source code. There is even a preferences option so you can control some of the program's behaviours.

More importantly, the new code provides a more extensible platform for adding further features, such as running simulations and animations for the orbits you define, displaying a solar system orrery for any given date etc. I hope to be able to extend that so you can create an orrery for your own imaginary systems which you can roll forward and backward in time as required.

The program has a built-in help system, in case you have any questions about what each function does or how to use it. I'm a programmer and I love to code. I'm a writer and I love to write. Writing all the help files is a torment though *sigh*.