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MERCURY
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Mercury still can be seen during the first week of June but is getting lower in the sky each day. The small planet rises 30 minutes before sunrise so a very clear eastern horizon is needed to spot it. After that the planet dives down to reach superior conjunction with the sun at the end of June
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Constellation
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Leo
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RA Position
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10 hr 13 min
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Distance from Sun
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42,033,672 Miles
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Dec Position
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10° 57'
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Distance from Earth
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92,912,772 Miles
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Magnitude
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0
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 8 min
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Rise Time
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7:38 AM
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Phase
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59%
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Transit Time
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2:10 PM
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Angular Size
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6.75 sec of arc
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Set Time
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8:37 PM
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VENUS
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Venus can be easily spotted in the evening sky this month as it blazes away at a magnitude of -4.1. Venus is still small as seen though a telescope and is at a 80 percent phase and still fairly small in size. During the summer, Venus will grow larger and brighter as the sister planet gets closer to earth. On June 19 and 20, the sister planet passes nearby the famous open star cluster Messier 44 otherwise know as the Beehive cluster.
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Constellation
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Leo
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RA Position
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11 hr 25 min
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Distance from Sun
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67,478,110 Miles
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Dec Position
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4° 9'
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Distance from Earth
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80,015,225 Miles
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Magnitude
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-5
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 7 min
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Rise Time
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9:07 AM
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Phase
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59%
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Transit Time
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3:21 PM
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Angular Size
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19.67 sec of arc
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Set Time
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9:31 PM
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MARS
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Mars is located in the constellation of Leo where it passes near by the bright star Regulus June 6th where it will be only one degree from the bright star. Now at 155 million miles, you will need a large telescope and good seeing to bring out any details on the surface. The planetary disk size is only 6 seconds or arc so even with large telescopes, observing days for Mars are coming to an end soon
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Constellation
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Virgo
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RA Position
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11 hr 58 min
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Distance from Sun
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148,686,692 Miles
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Dec Position
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0° 42'
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Distance from Earth
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184,665,559 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 16 min
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Rise Time
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9:49 AM
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Phase
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93%
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Transit Time
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3:55 PM
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Angular Size
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4.71 sec of arc
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Set Time
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9:56 PM
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JUPITER
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Jupiter rises as Saturn sets in the early morning hours just after midnight. By 3am local time the large planet is high enough in the sky to make some good observations. Jupiter moves around Uranus in June with the closest approach around June 6th. During that time, a wide field eyepiece can capture both planets in the same field of view. Any size telescope can make out the 4 moons and some of the surface features. With a larger telescope you start picking out the fine details on the surface.
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Constellation
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Pices
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RA Position
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0 hr 14 min
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Distance from Sun
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461,833,433 Miles
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Dec Position
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0° 2'
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Distance from Earth
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404,374,096 Miles
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Magnitude
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-3
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 36 min
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Rise Time
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10:04 PM
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Phase
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99%
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Transit Time
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4:13 AM
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Angular Size
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45.25 sec of arc
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Set Time
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10:12 AM
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SATURN
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Saturn is still in great viewing position and is visible until about midnight when it has set. Still in the constellation of Virgo and since the ring system is still very thin; only 1 degrees line of slight, the small moons can easily be seen in just about any size telescope. Larger telescope can use the advantage of the planets thin rings to view some of the surface features on the planet.
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Constellation
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Virgo
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RA Position
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12 hr 5 min
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Distance from Sun
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887,859,064 Miles
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Dec Position
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1° 49'
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Distance from Earth
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938,747,251 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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1 hr 23 min
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Rise Time
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9:53 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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4:02 PM
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Angular Size
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16.41 sec of arc
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Set Time
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10:05 PM
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URANUS
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Uranus rises after midnight with Jupiter as the two appear quite close together in June. In the constellation of Aquarius you will need a star chart to look for the distant world. Jupiter will help you find the planet.
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Constellation
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Pices
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RA Position
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0 hr 3 min
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Distance from Sun
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1,869,637,989 Miles
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Dec Position
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0° 29'
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Distance from Earth
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1,814,607,030 Miles
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Magnitude
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6
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Light Travel Time
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2 hr 42 min
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Rise Time
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9:54 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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4:01 AM
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Angular Size
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3.37 sec of arc
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Set Time
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9:59 AM
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NEPTUNE
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Neptune rises around midnight local time. Large telescopes can make out the planetary disk but don’t expect to see any detail. The distant planet is now in the constellation with its twin planet Uranus.
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Constellation
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Aquarius
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RA Position
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22 hr 0 min
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Distance from Sun
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2,796,404,742 Miles
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Dec Position
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-12° 39'
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Distance from Earth
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2,708,348,274 Miles
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Magnitude
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8
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 2 min
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Rise Time
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8:23 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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1:55 AM
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Angular Size
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2.14 sec of arc
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Set Time
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7:26 AM
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PLUTO
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Pluto is at opposition this month and visible all night long. The best time to hunt for the small world is around midnight when it is highest in the sky. You will need a large telescope and a good sky chart just to even see the tiny dwarf planet. If you have a DSLR camera or a CCD, you can capture the planet in only a few seconds. By repeating this the next few nights, you can create an animation that shows Pluto drifting 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 10 min
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Distance from Sun
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3,055,122,430 Miles
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Dec Position
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-18° 10'
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Distance from Earth
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2,920,740,075 Miles
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Magnitude
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14
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 21 min
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Rise Time
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4:48 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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10:05 PM
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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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3:21 AM
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