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MERCURY
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June is the best time to view Mercury in the evening sky. Mercury is not very bright at the early part of June but gets brighter as the month goes on. Mercury continues to get higher in the evening sky until June 12 when it is at greatest elongation from the sun. After that Mercury starts its way back down but passes close to Venus on June 20th.
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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4 hr 27 min
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Distance from Sun
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29,073,208 Miles
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Dec Position
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23° 9'
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Distance from Earth
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117,481,501 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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7:56 AM
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Phase
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93%
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Transit Time
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12:59 PM
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Angular Size
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5.34 sec of arc
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Set Time
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5:56 PM
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VENUS
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Venus is low in the western sky but bright enough to spot. As the month of June continues, Venus will get higher in the sky each day, and near the end of the month our sister planet lines up with the two bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini.
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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4 hr 45 min
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Distance from Sun
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66,918,668 Miles
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Dec Position
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22° 42'
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Distance from Earth
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154,628,961 Miles
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Magnitude
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-4
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 13 min
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Rise Time
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8:12 AM
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Phase
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97%
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Transit Time
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1:16 PM
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Angular Size
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10.18 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:15 PM
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MARS
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Mars rises shortly after sunrise but is quite dim.
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Constellation
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Aries
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RA Position
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3 hr 17 min
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Distance from Sun
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136,151,583 Miles
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Dec Position
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18° 9'
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Distance from Earth
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228,704,623 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 20 min
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Rise Time
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6:31 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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11:49 AM
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Angular Size
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3.81 sec of arc
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Set Time
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5:01 PM
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JUPITER
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Jupiter can be seen on the first day of June along with Mercury and Venus, but sinks quickly and is in conjunction with the sun at the end of June.
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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5 hr 23 min
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Distance from Sun
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475,249,704 Miles
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Dec Position
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22° 53'
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Distance from Earth
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560,998,122 Miles
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Magnitude
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-2
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 50 min
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Rise Time
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8:51 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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1:54 PM
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Angular Size
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32.61 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:53 PM
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SATURN
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Saturn is the only other planet around in evening sky to observe. Saturn is said to be one of the most beautiful planets in the solar system mainly because of the rings. At least 5 of Saturn moons are easy to see with a medium size telescope.
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Constellation
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Virgo
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RA Position
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14 hr 20 min
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Distance from Sun
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915,455,927 Miles
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Dec Position
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-11° 10'
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Distance from Earth
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827,780,789 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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4:17 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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10:50 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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5:21 AM
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URANUS
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Uranus is rises a few hours before sunrise and sits in the dim constellation of Pisces. The 5th magnitude planet is easy to spot in any size telescope and some of the moons can be seen with a good size telescope.
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Constellation
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Pices
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RA Position
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0 hr 42 min
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Distance from Sun
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1,866,284,116 Miles
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Dec Position
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3° 52'
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Distance from Earth
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1,929,074,468 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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3:20 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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9:14 AM
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Angular Size
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3.17 sec of arc
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Set Time
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3:04 PM
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NEPTUNE
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Neptune rises just after midnight and sits in the dim constellation of Aquarius. The 8th magnitude planet is not as easy to spot as Uranus was but any size telescope can see it.
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Constellation
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Aquarius
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RA Position
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22 hr 29 min
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Distance from Sun
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2,793,757,242 Miles
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Dec Position
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-10° 10'
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Distance from Earth
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2,801,257,395 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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12:31 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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6:57 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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1:26 PM
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PLUTO
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Pluto is low in the southeast a few hours after sunset and you will need a large telescope to see the tiny dwarf planet and a good sky chart to find it. Using a CCD Camera and a short exposure over a period of a week you can create an animation showing the small world against 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 43 min
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Distance from Sun
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3,116,489,731 Miles
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Dec Position
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-19° 28'
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Distance from Earth
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2,993,358,803 Miles
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Magnitude
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14
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 27 min
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Rise Time
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8:17 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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3:12 AM
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Angular Size
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0.25 sec of arc
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Set Time
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10:07 AM
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