Aquila Release Notes
Aquila 2.2.1 (May 31, 2026)
The following functionality has been added or enhanced:
• Keyboard Navigation: Improved keyboard navigation behaviour when tabbing from one control to another for mutliple control types.
• Spacebar Toggle: When one or more rows are selected (highlighted) in a list of selectable items (e.g. list of bodies), pressing the spacebar will now toggle the checkbox state.
• System Updates: All software components have been updated to the latest versions.
The following bugs were fixed:
• Table Edit Mode: Fixed a bug that put the first row of the arc, aspect, hotspot, location editor, and natal records editor tables into edit mode when the user initially clicked on the row to select it.
• Row Highlight: Fixed a bug where tabbing onto a selectable bodies list (or other selectable items list) left the focused row unhighlighted until the user pressed an arrow key.
• Recent Files: Fixed a bug that left the application in an unusable state when opening a workspace from the Recent Files menu whose containing folder no longer exists.
Aquila 2.2.0 (May 6, 2026)
⚠ Not backward compatible: The Heliacal Phenomenon study's atmospheric and observer parameters changed in this release with the introduction of the Sky Conditions and Visual Acuity selectors. Heliacal Phenomenon studies in workspaces saved by earlier versions of Aquila will deserialize with the lowest-quality buckets (Sky Conditions = Poor, Visual Acuity = Normal) rather than the new application defaults; review and re-run any existing Heliacal Phenomenon studies after upgrading.
The following functionality has been added or enhanced:
• Event Descriptions: Descriptions no longer label a body as "transiting" unless the event involves a natal body. This removes unnecessary terminology from mundane events.
• Reference Planes: When switching between geocentric/topocentric and heliocentric reference planes, existing body selections are maintained using a Sun/Earth equivalence where applicable.
• Numeric Tables: The button next to the value entry box on the Arcs, Aspects, and Hotspot Degrees tables has been re-purposed. Click it to add the value you have typed into the box — the same action as pressing the Enter key. The button is enabled only when a value has been entered.
• Presets for Numeric Tables: Saved presets for the Arcs, Aspects, and Hotspot Degrees tables are now accessed by right-clicking anywhere on the table below the column header. The context menu lists the available presets and the options for managing them, matching the way presets work for body selection lists.
• Time Zones Database: The global time zones database has been updated to the latest version.
• Heliacal Visibility Model: The Heliacal Phenomenon study now exposes a Visibility Model selector (Arcus Visionis, Schaefer Visibility Limit, Schoch Min 7°, Schoch Min 9°, Pannekoek-Törnquist) that controls the algorithm Swiss Ephemeris uses to determine first/last visibility. The new default is Arcus Visionis, matching traditional astrological tooling. Users who relied on the previous results should explicitly select "Schaefer Visibility Limit" — for inferior planets such as Venus the choice can shift event dates by several days.
• Heliacal Sky Conditions: The Heliacal Phenomenon study now exposes a Sky Conditions selector (Poor, Good, Excellent) that sets the Bemporad atmospheric extinction coefficient used in visibility calculations. The default is Good; clearer skies allow bodies to be seen closer to the Sun and shorten the invisibility window around conjunction.
• Heliacal Visual Acuity: The Heliacal Phenomenon study now exposes a Visual Acuity selector (Normal, Good, Superior) that sets the observer's Snellen ratio used in visibility calculations. The default is Superior, matching the convention used by traditional astrological tooling; sharper acuity lets the observer detect a body at lower contrast and shifts heliacal events closer to conjunction.
• Heliacal Solar Elongation: The Heliacal Phenomenon events table now includes a Solar Elongation column showing the signed angular difference between the body and the Sun (positive when the body is ahead of the Sun in zodiacal longitude/right-ascension order, negative when behind), normalised to the range −180° to +180° and displayed to five decimal places. The column is visible by default and sits between Body Speed and Sun Longitude.
• System Updates: All software components have been updated to their latest versions.
The following bugs were fixed:
• Latitude Extrema: Fixed an error where the event description builder incorrectly labeled latitude maxima as minima. This issue was limited to Timeline Studies and event descriptions copied directly from the events table.
Aquila 2.1.3 (April 7, 2026)
The following functionality has been added or enhanced:
• Update Notifications: When a new version of Aquila is available for download, a toolbar button with a download glyph will appear next to the theme toggle button in the top-right region of the application window. Clicking on the button opens the download page for Aquila in the user's default web browser.
• System Updates: All software components have been updated to their latest versions.
The following bugs were fixed:
• Eclipse Metrics Tables: Fixed a crash that occurred when either Select or Deselect was clicked on in the context menu for the Eclipse Metrics tables (Lunar or Solar Eclipse studies).