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MERCURY
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Mercury is too low in the eastern sky before sunrise to be spotted. The small planet is in superior conjunction with the sun on the 27th of May.
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Constellation
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Aries
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RA Position
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3 hr 13 min
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Distance from Sun
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30,821,697 Miles
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Dec Position
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17° 7'
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Distance from Earth
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120,759,169 Miles
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Magnitude
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-1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 10 min
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Rise Time
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4:55 AM
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Phase
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95%
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Transit Time
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11:44 AM
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Angular Size
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5.19 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:28 PM
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VENUS
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Venus is still blazing away in the western sky at -4.7 magnitude. Venus is in the constellation Taurus and does not set until 11:30pm local time. This is because of the angle of the ecliptic and the angular distance from the sun. However, during the next 5 weeks Venus will drop very fast in the western sky to meet with the sun on June 5th during the Venus transit. This is the last one until 2117.
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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5 hr 31 min
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Distance from Sun
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67,319,298 Miles
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Dec Position
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26° 47'
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Distance from Earth
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30,733,286 Miles
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Magnitude
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-5
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 2 min
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Rise Time
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6:44 AM
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Phase
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9%
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Transit Time
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2:02 PM
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Angular Size
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51.20 sec of arc
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Set Time
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9:15 PM
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MARS
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Mars is still in a good position to be observed but is getting more distant from earth so seeing any surface features is getting harder to do. Mars in found in the constellation Leo where it has been the past couple of months.
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Constellation
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Leo
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RA Position
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10 hr 49 min
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Distance from Sun
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151,016,671 Miles
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Dec Position
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9° 2'
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Distance from Earth
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102,789,451 Miles
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Magnitude
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0
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 9 min
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Rise Time
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12:52 PM
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Phase
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90%
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Transit Time
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7:19 PM
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Angular Size
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8.47 sec of arc
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Set Time
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1:45 AM
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JUPITER
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Jupiter is in conjunction with the sun May 13th so is not visible this month.
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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3 hr 30 min
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Distance from Sun
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465,177,141 Miles
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Dec Position
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18° 10'
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Distance from Earth
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558,844,637 Miles
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Magnitude
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-2
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 49 min
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Rise Time
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5:09 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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12:01 PM
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Angular Size
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32.74 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:47 PM
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SATURN
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Saturn is in excellent position to be observed and is a beautiful planet to see 4 hours after sunset when it is highest in the sky. The ringed planet is in the constellation Virgo where it will remain the rest of 2012.
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Constellation
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Virgo
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RA Position
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13 hr 31 min
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Distance from Sun
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906,326,952 Miles
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Dec Position
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-6° 39'
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Distance from Earth
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828,021,093 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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1 hr 14 min
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Rise Time
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4:13 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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10:01 PM
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Angular Size
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18.60 sec of arc
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Set Time
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3:47 AM
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URANUS
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Uranus rises in the early morning a few hours before sunrise. The 6th magnitude planet can be seen in any optical telescope. The distant planet is in the constellation Pisces and appears as a small disk is a larger telescope.
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Constellation
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Pices
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RA Position
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0 hr 28 min
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Distance from Sun
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1,867,852,109 Miles
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Dec Position
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2° 21'
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Distance from Earth
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1,925,477,854 Miles
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Magnitude
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6
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Light Travel Time
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2 hr 52 min
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Rise Time
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2:50 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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9:00 AM
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Angular Size
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3.18 sec of arc
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Set Time
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3:05 PM
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NEPTUNE
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Neptune is found in the dim constellation of Aquarius and is about half the size that Uranus is. With a large telescope you should see a nice small disk.
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Constellation
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Aquarius
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RA Position
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22 hr 20 min
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Distance from Sun
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2,794,692,461 Miles
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Dec Position
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-10° 55'
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Distance from Earth
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2,798,196,367 Miles
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Magnitude
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8
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 10 min
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Rise Time
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1:16 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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6:48 AM
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Angular Size
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2.07 sec of arc
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Set Time
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12:24 PM
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PLUTO
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Pluto is in the constellation Sagittarius and very hard to find unless you have some kind of sky chart or computer application. The bright open star cluster lies two degrees east of this object so you have place to start at. Using a CCD Camera you can capture Pluto in a very short exposure. Over the week, take an imaged each night to create an animation to show its movement among the background stars.
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Constellation
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Sagittarius
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RA Position
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18 hr 34 min
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Distance from Sun
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3,094,279,323 Miles
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Dec Position
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-18° 57'
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Distance from Earth
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2,970,121,551 Miles
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Magnitude
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14
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 25 min
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Rise Time
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9:48 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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3:03 AM
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Angular Size
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0.26 sec of arc
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Set Time
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8:17 AM
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