Matthias:
will there be an updated CelestiaED based on the upcoming 1.5 release
I have updated Celestia-ED for 2007 to include new astronomical changes and discoveries uncovered since 2006. For example, Activities 3, 3E, 4 and 4E, which take you on a detailed journey through our solar system, were updated to include Pluto, Ceres and Eris as dwarf planets, new moons have been added, new spacecraft launched in 2006/2007 are included in Activity 7 and 8, etc. The updates were sent to motherlode this week and should be available within a few days.
These updates still use Celestia-ED 141. They do not include Vincent's great lua tools and they do not use Celestia 1.5.0, primarily because 1.5.0 still has no sound, and there are serious bugs/incompatibilities in 1.5.0 that must first be overcome. For example, there is a problem with seeing stars directly overhead from the ground during full sunlight. 1.5.0 also cannot be used with several add-ons that work just fine in 1.4.1 Those add-ons are important parts of the Activities.
I am anxious to begin using LUA tools in the Activities, but 1.5.0 must first incorporate sound (it is a key part of the Activities), and those bugs must still be fixed.
Keep watching the forum here for announcements of any new educational updates.
Regarding the two disk Celestia-ED CD set, I market it myself for a modest fee. If you are interested, please email me separately. I have had lots of customers in Australia. However, if someone is posting a separate download file in Australia that includes the entire CD set, they are violating my copyright. I'd most certainly like to know about it.
Frank