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Planets In The Sky
Below is a table and information about the planets and where they are in the sky. It includes rise and set times, distances, magnitude, position in the sky, and more. This information updates every hour. You can change the date for the information, however, the text description is for the current month.
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Planet Infomation on Saturday, May 17, 2008 for TUCSON
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MERCURY
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Mercury makes a great appearance this month after sunset. Early in the month, you will find Mercury close to the famous star cluster known as the Pleiades. As the month continues the 2 day old moon passes by the small planet as it climbs higher in the sky reaching its highest point on May 13th. Mercury starts off the month at bight -0.9 magnitude but will dim as time goes on. After Mercury reaches its greatest elongation, it will start to fall fast back in the glow of the twilight where it is lost by end of the month
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Constellation
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Taurus
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RA Position
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5 hr 6 min
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Distance from Sun
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37,677,534 Miles
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Dec Position
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25° 3'
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Distance from Earth
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71,941,141 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 6 min
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Rise Time
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6:36 AM
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Phase
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29%
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Transit Time
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1:49 PM
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Angular Size
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8.71 sec of arc
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Set Time
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8:56 PM
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VENUS
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Venus is too close to the sun this month to be seen. Look for the sister planet to return in June.
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Constellation
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Aries
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RA Position
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3 hr 12 min
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Distance from Sun
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67,270,347 Miles
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Dec Position
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17° 0'
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Distance from Earth
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159,985,716 Miles
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Magnitude
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-4
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 14 min
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Rise Time
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5:06 AM
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Phase
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99%
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Transit Time
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11:55 AM
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Angular Size
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9.84 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:38 PM
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MARS
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The red planet has now drifted into the Gemini/Cancer border and is even smaller now to the point it is not worth looking at anymore.
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Constellation
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Cancer
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RA Position
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8 hr 26 min
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Distance from Sun
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154,931,372 Miles
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Dec Position
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20° 53'
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Distance from Earth
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164,599,318 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 14 min
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Rise Time
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10:09 AM
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Phase
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91%
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Transit Time
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5:08 PM
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Angular Size
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5.29 sec of arc
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Set Time
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12:07 AM
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JUPITER
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Jupiter rises a just after midnight by mid May in the low southeastern part of the sky. The best time to see Jupiter this time of year is just as daylight returns and most of the fainter stars are lost. The brightening sky helps boost the contrast of the planet and helps bring out more details. Sitting in the constellation of Sagittarius for the remaining of 2008, Jupiter will be well placed this year for a nice summer planet.
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Constellation
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Sagittarius
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RA Position
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19 hr 36 min
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Distance from Sun
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483,347,865 Miles
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Dec Position
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-21° 39'
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Distance from Earth
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424,184,273 Miles
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Magnitude
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-3
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 37 min
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Rise Time
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11:09 PM
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Phase
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99%
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Transit Time
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4:16 AM
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Angular Size
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43.13 sec of arc
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Set Time
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9:23 AM
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SATURN
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Saturn is still in great viewing for most of the night and is high in the sky after sunset. Still in the constellation of Leo the ring system is now at 10 degrees tilt so more of the northern hemisphere is now visible. Saturn is stationary this month which means it is a 90 degree angle with the sun. Therefore, the planets shadow shows up the best on the ring system. Next year the ring system becomes edge on as the planet drifts south of our orbital planet. As the rings become less of a tilt, you will start to pick up more moons because the planet is not as bright as when the rings are at a full tilt
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Constellation
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Leo
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RA Position
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10 hr 18 min
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Distance from Sun
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865,344,030 Miles
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Dec Position
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12° 25'
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Distance from Earth
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851,584,075 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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1 hr 16 min
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Rise Time
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12:24 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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7:00 PM
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Angular Size
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18.08 sec of arc
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Set Time
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1:35 AM
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URANUS
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Uranus rises a couple of hours after sunrise so it will be better place later in late May. In the dim constellation of Aquarius, the 5.7 magnitude planet can be spotted in any size telescope. A larger scope will reveal the planetary disk and possibly some of its moons if you have a larger enough telescope.
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Constellation
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Pices
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RA Position
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23 hr 32 min
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Distance from Sun
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1,869,954,365 Miles
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Dec Position
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-3° 48'
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Distance from Earth
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1,909,959,386 Miles
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Magnitude
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6
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Light Travel Time
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2 hr 50 min
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Rise Time
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2:21 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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8:15 AM
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Angular Size
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3.20 sec of arc
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Set Time
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2:05 PM
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NEPTUNE
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Neptune is in better place than Uranus since it rises about 4 hours before sunrise. Nearly at 8th magnitude, you will need some kind of telescope to spot it. A larger scope will show the 2 second of arc disk. The blue green color will help give away the planet when you think you have found it.
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Constellation
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Capricornus
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RA Position
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21 hr 46 min
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Distance from Sun
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2,798,506,947 Miles
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Dec Position
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-13° 44'
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Distance from Earth
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2,792,294,320 Miles
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Magnitude
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8
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 9 min
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Rise Time
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1:01 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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6:26 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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11:54 AM
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PLUTO
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Pluto rises early in the morning sky around midnight. Mixed in the rich Milky Way, you will need a good star chart and a large telescope just to see it. Most of the stars in the field of view will brighter and larger than Pluto. If you have a digital camera or CCD, you can take about a 20 second exposure each night for about two weeks. Then create a animation using some kind of software.
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Constellation
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Sagittarius
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RA Position
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17 hr 59 min
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Distance from Sun
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3,009,650,662 Miles
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Dec Position
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-16° 40'
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Distance from Earth
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2,888,161,151 Miles
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Magnitude
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14
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 18 min
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Rise Time
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9:18 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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2:39 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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8:00 AM
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