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This spring, HubbleSite content will join NASA Science, with site traffic redirected to <strong><a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/" target="_blank">science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble</a></strong>. More details coming soon.</p> </div> <button type="button" class="btn close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close">Close <span class="svg-sprite -close"> <svg role="img" focusable="false" aria-hidden="true"> <use xlink:href="#close"></use> </svg> </span> </button> </div> </div><div class="background-img banner__interior content-section-" aria-labelledby="page-title" > <div class="row banner__content"> <div class="col-md-12 text-center"> <h1 id="page-title" class="interior-page-title ">Quick Facts</h1> </div> </div> <picture class="stretch-container"><img alt="An artist's impression of a young, giant exoplanet orbiting its host star." src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn1440 1440w" sizes="100vw" /></picture><noscript><img alt="An artist's impression of a young, giant exoplanet orbiting its host star." class="noscript-img null" src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/banner_images/hs-banner-cfa0822.jpg?t=tn1440 1440w" sizes="100vw" /></noscript></div> <div class="container-fluid breadcrumbs-container"> <nav class="breadcrumbs-share row hidden-xs hidden-sm" aria-label="Breadcrumb" data-module-dynamic="toggle-links-display"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <h2 id="h2-sr-only-breadcrumbs-navigation" class="sr-only">Breadcrumbs Navigation</h2> <ul role="list" class="breadcrumbs"> <li class="breadcrumb"> <a href="/home"> <span>Home</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div><div class="main"> <section id="section-89649d8e-ca79-40f3-8b96-b8ea7cc2bb46" data-name="section-in-page-navigation" class="section-row none" > <h2 id="h2-sr-only-89649d8e-ca79-40f3-8b96-b8ea7cc2bb46" data-name="h2-sr-only-in-page-navigation" class="sr-only" data-include-in-navigation="true"> In-Page Navigation</h2> <nav class="on-this-page-wrapper" aria-labelledby="p-05bdccc9-56b2-4ed1-b8f2-79a9a4d144da"> <div class="on-this-page section-separate"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12"> <div class="dropdown" data-module-dynamic="dropdown-mobile"> <p id="p-05bdccc9-56b2-4ed1-b8f2-79a9a4d144da" data-name="p-on-this-page" class="h4">On This Page</p> <button class="btn visible-xs-inline-block" id="pageNavButton" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="btn-text">On This Page</span> <span class="svg-sprite -carat"> <svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"> <use xlink:href="#carat"></use> </svg> </span> </button> <ul role="list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav></section><section id="section-8e220c3d-2d48-4961-96a1-8ea47e635882" data-name="section-mission-and-telescope" class="section-row none" > <div class="component-block container-fluid"> <div class="row"> <div class="section-header col-xs-12 text-center"> <h2 id="h2-8e220c3d-2d48-4961-96a1-8ea47e635882" data-name="h2-mission-and-telescope" class="section-header__title" data-include-in-navigation="true"> Mission and Telescope</h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class="component-block container-fluid"> <h3 data-name="h3-who-was-edwin-hubble" id="h3-CK-546b0331-9c19-4f2f-9523-b97de98ecac4">Who was Edwin Hubble?</h3> <p>The Hubble Space Telescope was named after <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-dbc0b51f-2679-4119-9fcb-21e108c9b3ae" target="_self">astronomer</a> Edwin Powell Hubble (1889–1953), who made some of the most important discoveries in modern <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-c323ba5c-eddb-4221-9c85-a9fd8f50a584" target="_self">astronomy</a>. In the 1920s, making use of relationships established by Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Dr. Hubble showed that some of the numerous distant, faint clouds of light in the universe were actually entire <a href="/glossary" target="_self">galaxies</a> — much like our own <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-e10fe068-b5cb-4a65-a72b-f7d3f85ff279" target="_self">Milky Way</a>. The realization that the Milky Way is only one of many galaxies forever changed the way humanity views our place in the universe. But perhaps his greatest discovery came in 1929, when Hubble determined that the farther a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it appears to move away. This notion of an expanding universe formed the basis of the big bang theory, which states that the universe began with an intense burst of energy at a single moment in time and has been expanding ever since.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-when-was-the-hubble-space-telescope-launched" id="h3-CK-9a5247bb-46fd-4972-bd9c-5b35e8c7d555">When was the Hubble Space Telescope launched?</h3> <p>Hubble was launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-31) on April 24, 1990. It was deployed into orbit the following day, April 25, 1990.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-where-is-hubble" id="h3-CK-179b941e-3129-42b6-88cb-03898f4e8823">Where is Hubble?</h3> <p>Hubble orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 340 miles (547 kilometers), inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator. This vantage point is above the negative effects of Earth’s <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-9dc6582b-9c9e-486a-b508-a2bec50e14f1" target="_self">atmosphere</a>.  Traveling at a speed of about 17,000 miles per hour (27,300 kilometers per hour), Hubble takes about 95 minutes to complete one orbit around Earth.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-when-was-the-hubble-space-telescope-launched" id="h3-CK-9a5247bb-46fd-4972-bd9c-5b35e8c7d555">Why is Hubble a space telescope?</h3> <p>Shifting pockets of air in Earth’s <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-9dc6582b-9c9e-486a-b508-a2bec50e14f1" target="_self">atmosphere</a> distort light from space — that’s why <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-d0c9d2de-3fc3-45be-9b6f-d9189ecebe4f" target="_self">stars</a> seem to twinkle when viewed from the ground. The atmosphere also blocks some <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-2f338315-1d93-4136-bf26-f47f2e531d91" target="_self">wavelengths</a> of light partially or entirely, particularly ultraviolet light. This makes space the only place where a telescope can get a truly clear and comprehensive view of the universe. Although Hubble also sees visible and infrared light, it is the telescope’s capability in the ultraviolet that will not be matched or replaced in the near future.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-what-were-hubbles-original-mission-objectives" id="h3-CK-8b1ae957-50b8-469f-8649-6e458a53e5bf">What were Hubble’s original mission objectives?</h3> <p>When launched, the primary objectives of the Hubble Space Telescope were to</p> <ul class="bulleted"> <li>investigate the constitution, physical characteristics, and dynamics of celestial bodies</li> <li>determine the nature of processes occurring in stellar and galactic objects</li> <li>study the history and evolution of the universe</li> <li>confirm universality of physical laws</li> <li>provide a long-term space research facility for optical astronomy</li> </ul> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>How do Hubble’s mirrors work?</h3> <p>Hubble is a <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-0434b443-ff08-4372-ad18-da19d788c3a7" target="_self">Cassegrain telescope</a> — a type of reflecting telescope. Light enters the telescope and strikes the large primary, or main, mirror. The light is then reflected from the primary mirror onto the secondary mirror, which then focuses the light back through a hole in the primary mirror to a point behind that mirror, where the science instruments are located. Hubble’s primary mirror is 94.5 inches (2.4 meters) in diameter.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>What are Hubble’s science instruments?</h3> <p>Hubble collects light from celestial objects and directs it to the telescope’s <a href="/mission-and-telescope/instruments" target="_self">science instruments</a>. Hubble’s current suite of instruments includes the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), and Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS).</p> <p>These are not the only instruments that have flown aboard Hubble. The telescope was designed to be visited periodically by astronauts, who brought new instruments and technology, and made repairs, from December 1993 to May 2009.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-when-was-hubble-serviced" id="h3-CK-26fb8aa6-daad-401e-88ab-601beedd1072">When was Hubble serviced?</h3> <p>Hubble was serviced on-orbit five times by astronauts aboard the space shuttle. They rendezvoused with the telescope and placed it in the shuttle’s payload bay to complete the servicing. Below are the names and dates of the servicing missions:</p> <ul class="bulleted"> <li>Servicing Mission 1 (STS-61): December 1993</li> <li>Servicing Mission 2 (STS-82): February 1997</li> <li>Servicing Mission 3A (STS-103): December 1999</li> <li>Servicing Mission 3B (STS-109): March 2002</li> <li>Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125): May 2009</li> </ul> <p>Learn more about <a href="/mission-and-telescope/servicing-missions" target="_self" title="Servicing Missions">Hubble's servicing missions</a>.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-what-is-the-longevity-of-hubble" id="h3-CK-005f1663-34c3-4916-9856-04b7fc1f0577">What is the longevity of Hubble?</h3> <section data-name="section-all-the-facts" id="section-fcec0064-ea99-4806-81d5-48e2eeff4543"> <p>Hubble is more scientifically productive today than at any time in its past, and NASA plans to operate Hubble at least well into this new decade.  Hubble's longevity is partly due to its multiple <a href="/mission-and-telescope/servicing-missions" target="_self">servicing missions</a>, the last one being in 2009.  That is when astronauts installed a new device, the Soft Capture Mechanism, to allow a robotic spacecraft to attach itself to Hubble someday, once the telescope is at the end of its life, and guide its descent to Earth or boost it to a higher orbit.</p> </section> <nav aria-label="Social Sharing"> <ul class="bulleted"> </ul> </nav> <script>hljs.initHighlightingOnLoad();</script> </div></section><section id="section-d5d366e5-1a9d-46a9-b7e2-39dfd86cf541" data-name="section-science-and-imagery" class="section-row none" > <div class="component-block container-fluid"> <div class="row"> <div class="section-header col-xs-12 text-center"> <h2 id="h2-d5d366e5-1a9d-46a9-b7e2-39dfd86cf541" data-name="h2-science-and-imagery" class="section-header__title" data-include-in-navigation="true"> Science and Imagery</h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class="component-block container-fluid"> <h3 data-name="h3-are-all-hubble-data-available-to-the-public" id="h3-CK-3c96203a-a781-4590-ba8d-726d08319d43">How does the Hubble Space Telescope search for black holes?</h3> <p>The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), an instrument installed on Hubble in February 1997, is the space telescope’s main “black hole hunter.” A <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-6507a55a-c4c3-445d-b173-30e2a78f5b5d" target="_self">spectrograph</a> uses prisms or <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-26c3a22d-bea5-407c-bd78-75df2d1c40ab">diffraction gratings</a> to split the incoming light into its rainbow pattern. Each element interacts with light in a unique rainbow signature. The position and strength of those signatures in a spectrum gives scientists valuable information. STIS can take a spectrum of many places at once across the center of a galaxy, which tells scientists how fast the stars and gas are swirling at that location. With that information, the central mass that the stars are orbiting can be calculated. The faster the stars go, the more massive the central object must be.</p> <p>STIS found, for example, the signature of a supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M84. The spectra showed the disk around the black hole is rotating at a velocity of about 250 miles per second (approximately 400 kilometers per second), equivalent to 900,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) every hour. Earth orbits our sun at 18.6 miles per second (30 kilometers per). If Earth moved as fast as the disk around M84’s black hole, our year would be only 27 days long.</p> <p>Learn more about <a href="/contents/news-releases/1997/news-1997-12" target="_self">Hubble’s detection of a black hole’s signature</a>.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>Has Hubble found planets around other stars?</h3> <p>Hubble is not looking for new <a href="/glossary" target="_self">planets</a> in our own <a href="/glossary" target="_self">solar system</a>, but the search for planets around other stars is very active. Hubble has achieved direct detection of several different <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-a928a2b0-e22b-4b13-9e33-c15c52caa225">exoplanets</a>, though they are still too small and far away to resolve details.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>Are the colors in Hubble images real?</h3> <p>There are no natural color cameras aboard Hubble and there never have been. The optical cameras on board have all been digital <a href="/glossary.html#h3-CK-2834604b-61e4-4fcb-95d4-d3aaea74118d" target="_self">CCD</a> cameras, which take images as grayscale pixels but use colored filters to isolate different colors in each image.</p> <p>Sometimes the color in the images is as natural as possible. However, the color given to the images is not just artistic embellishment. The images are, indeed, downloaded as black and white, and color is added for a number of different reasons — for example, to show the location of chemical elements and highlight features so subdued that the human eye cannot see them.</p> <p>For more information, read <a href="/contents/articles/the-meaning-of-light-and-color">The Meaning of Light and Color</a>, which explains in detail how color is added to images.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>Can Hubble see the Apollo landing sites on the Moon?</h3> <p>No, Hubble cannot take photos of the Apollo landing sites. An object on the Moon, even the size of a large house, is too small to resolve. So, anything we left on the Moon cannot be resolved in any Hubble image. It would just appear as a dot blended with its surroundings.</p> <p>Here is a <a href="/contents/media/images/1999/14/796-Image" target="_self">picture</a> that Hubble took of the Moon.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>Can Hubble take pictures of Earth?</h3> <p>The surface of the Earth is whizzing by as Hubble orbits, and the pointing system, designed to track the distant <a href="/glossary" target="_self">stars</a>, cannot track an object on the Earth. The shortest exposure time on any of the Hubble instruments is 0.1 seconds, and in this time Hubble moves almost half a mile, about 700 meters. A picture Hubble took of Earth would be completely streaked.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3>Can we see live photos from Hubble?</h3> <p>While there is no “real time” camera or webcam on board the telescope for live relay links, you can find out what Hubble is observing at any time by visiting <a href="http://spacetelescopelive.org/" target="_blank">Space Telescope Live</a>. Usually, Hubble is looking at these targets for the first time, so the images you will see there are from other telescopes, but give you an idea of where Hubble is looking.</p> <p>The images that Hubble takes are digital pictures and <a href="/glossary" target="_self">spectra </a>that are generally released to the public after six months (to allow the investigators time to do their research). The data, which are transmitted from the telescope in digital form, need to be converted from this digitized information by computers into black-and-white photos. These are then enhanced to discern details in the images.</p> <p>Learn more about <a href="/mission-and-telescope/the-telescope" target="_self">how the telescope and its instruments operate</a> and its <a href="/mission-and-telescope/instruments" target="_self">instruments</a>.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 data-name="h3-are-all-hubble-data-available-to-the-public" id="h3-CK-3c96203a-a781-4590-ba8d-726d08319d43">Are all Hubble data available to the public?</h3> <p>Yes … eventually!  Astronomers who requested the data generally have six months to publish their findings before the data are publicly released.</p> <p>After new instruments were installed during servicing missions to Hubble, early release observations were very quickly made public. These photos showed the world that the instruments were meeting expectations.</p> <p>Hubble images produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute are covered by <a href="/copyright" target="_self">copyright</a> law. This copyright covers most images displayed on all of our websites. NASA holds worldwide copyright on publicly released Hubble images, which means they are in the public domain and free of charge to use. All Hubble data becomes non-proprietary after six months, and its archive can be freely accessed by anyone. However, the images cannot be used to imply any endorsement of a person or product by NASA.</p> <p> </p> <hr aria-hidden="true" /> <h3 class="no-margin-top" data-name="h3-why-do-some-hubble-images-have-a-stairshaped-corne" id="h3-CK-a720d240-9015-42ca-a4e5-35623e9b9924">Why do some Hubble images have a stair-shaped corner?</h3> <p>The strange, stair-shaped images come from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), removed from Hubble in 2009. WFPC2 consisted of four cameras, each of which took a picture of a section of the target. It's like taking four pictures of a single scene, then putting them together to create the whole picture.</p> <p>But one of WFPC2's cameras took a magnified view of the section it's observing, to allow us to study that section in finer detail. When the images are processed, that magnified section is shrunk down to the same scale as the other sections, so that it fits into the image.</p> <script>hljs.initHighlightingOnLoad();</script> </div></section><section id="section-a64c02a9-cf60-4267-b7d6-5ea60fab63bd" data-name="section-additional-material" class="section-row dark-background-blueGrey-hubble" > <div class="component-block container-fluid"> <div class="row"> <div class="section-header col-xs-12 text-center"> <h2 id="h2-a64c02a9-cf60-4267-b7d6-5ea60fab63bd" data-name="h2-additional-material" class="section-header__title" data-include-in-navigation="true"> Additional Material</h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class="component-block container-fluid "> <ul role="list" class="content-block-wrapper justify-content-center non-hover-adbox-container "> <li class="content-prev-wrapper text-center"> <div class="content-prev flex-col card" data-module-dynamic="card"> <h3 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/></picture><noscript><img alt="Hubble model over the stellar nursery HBC 672, Serpens nebula" class="noscript-img " src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1840a-w-hst-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 992px) 50vw, 360px" /></noscript></div> </div></li> <li class="content-prev-wrapper text-center"> <div class="content-prev flex-col card" data-module-dynamic="card"> <h3 id="h3-adbox-text-under-image-3360769f-ff70-4fc4-9f73-38ccb4eaf2c4" class="content-prev__head large-preview"> <a href="/science" class="has-icon no-file-icon card-link" > Scientific Achievements</a></h3> <div class="content-prev__image"> <picture class="flex-ratio"><img alt="M82 Hubble Mosaic with 2014 Supernova" class="lazyload" loading="lazy" src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 992px) 50vw, 360px" /></picture><noscript><img alt="M82 Hubble Mosaic with 2014 Supernova" class="noscript-img " src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/_images/hs-1413a-2400x1200.jpg?t=tn370" 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src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 992px) 50vw, 360px" /></picture><noscript><img alt="Deployment of Hubble's solar panels, April 1990" class="noscript-img " src="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn370" srcset="/files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn370 370w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn768 768w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn992 992w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn1200 1200w, /files/live/sites/hubble/files/home/quick-facts/_images/hs-images-hubble-gold24x12.jpg?t=tn1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 992px) 50vw, 360px" /></noscript></div> </div></li> <li class="content-prev-wrapper text-center"> <div class="content-prev flex-col card" data-module-dynamic="card"> <h3 id="h3-adbox-text-under-image-541cbb21-9c77-4c0b-ba84-1daa57239099" class="content-prev__head large-preview"> <a href="/contents/articles/the-meaning-of-light-and-color" class="has-icon no-file-icon card-link" > About Light and Color</a></h3> <div class="content-prev__image"> <picture class="flex-ratio"><img alt="The heart of the Lagoon Nebula" class="lazyload" 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