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MERCURY
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Mercury breaks into the morning sky during the second half of August but is still lost in the glare of dawn. In September it will become clear that Mercury will be making its best morning appearance in 2010. It should be easy to spot by September 13 as it reaches a magnitude of 1.0. However, when the planet reaches greatest elongation on the 19th, Mercury will have brighten quite a bit. Mercury should be visible until the end of September
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Constellation
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Sagittarius
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RA Position
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18 hr 23 min
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Distance from Sun
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29,398,649 Miles
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Dec Position
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-23° 32'
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Distance from Earth
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69,224,169 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 6 min
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Rise Time
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8:18 AM
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Phase
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17%
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Transit Time
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1:20 PM
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Angular Size
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9.05 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:16 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 -4.8 as it reaches greatest brightness on the 23rd. Venus is growing in size and the phase becomes smaller. Seen though a telescope our sister planet is at a 41 percent phase.
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Constellation
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Libra
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RA Position
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14 hr 23 min
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Distance from Sun
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66,852,759 Miles
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Dec Position
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-11° 27'
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Distance from Earth
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44,142,813 Miles
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Magnitude
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-6
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 3 min
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Rise Time
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3:45 AM
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Phase
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33%
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Transit Time
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9:21 AM
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Angular Size
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35.65 sec of arc
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Set Time
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2:51 PM
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MARS
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Mars is very small and dim at a magnitude of only 1.5 moves from Virgo into Libra.
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Constellation
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Sagittarius
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RA Position
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18 hr 16 min
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Distance from Sun
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133,123,253 Miles
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Dec Position
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-24° 16'
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Distance from Earth
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220,467,360 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 19 min
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Rise Time
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8:14 AM
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Phase
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99%
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Transit Time
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1:13 PM
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Angular Size
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3.95 sec of arc
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Set Time
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6:07 PM
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JUPITER
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Jupiter rises a few hours after sunset but reaches opposition in September and is visible all night long In addition; Jupiter will be at its perihelion point of its orbit and be closest to the sun. So this opposition the planet will be larger and bringer than normal. 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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23 hr 41 min
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Distance from Sun
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460,628,040 Miles
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Dec Position
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-3° 24'
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Distance from Earth
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445,707,644 Miles
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Magnitude
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-3
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Light Travel Time
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0 hr 39 min
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Rise Time
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12:42 PM
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Phase
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99%
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Transit Time
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6:37 PM
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Angular Size
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41.05 sec of arc
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Set Time
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12:32 AM
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SATURN
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Saturn is still visible for about an hour after sunset so now is the time to get a last view before conjunction with the sun.
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Constellation
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Virgo
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RA Position
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13 hr 0 min
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Distance from Sun
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891,800,825 Miles
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Dec Position
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-3° 56'
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Distance from Earth
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926,237,038 Miles
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Magnitude
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1
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Light Travel Time
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1 hr 22 min
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Rise Time
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2:04 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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7:58 AM
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Angular Size
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16.63 sec of arc
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Set Time
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1:47 PM
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URANUS
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Uranus rises with Jupiter as the two are quite close together in September. 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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23 hr 49 min
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Distance from Sun
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1,869,380,418 Miles
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Dec Position
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-1° 56'
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Distance from Earth
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1,856,473,726 Miles
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Magnitude
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6
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Light Travel Time
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2 hr 46 min
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Rise Time
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12:46 PM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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6:45 PM
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Angular Size
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3.30 sec of arc
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Set Time
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12:43 AM
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NEPTUNE
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Neptune visible as soon as it gets dark requires a chart to help find the distant world. Large telescopes can make out the planetary disk but don’t expect to see any detail.
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Constellation
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Capricornus
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RA Position
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21 hr 54 min
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Distance from Sun
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2,796,048,181 Miles
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Dec Position
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-13° 12'
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Distance from Earth
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2,833,781,298 Miles
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Magnitude
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8
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 13 min
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Rise Time
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11:20 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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4:50 PM
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Angular Size
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2.04 sec of arc
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Set Time
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10:16 PM
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PLUTO
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The best time to hunt for the small world is as soon as it gets dark when it is highest in the sky. You will need a large telescope and a good sky chart just to 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 16 min
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Distance from Sun
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3,063,118,059 Miles
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Dec Position
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-18° 31'
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Distance from Earth
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3,098,336,362 Miles
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Magnitude
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14
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Light Travel Time
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4 hr 37 min
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Rise Time
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7:56 AM
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Phase
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100%
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Transit Time
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1:12 PM
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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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6:24 PM
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