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(meteorobs) Excerpts from "CCNet 93/2001 - 24 August 2001"
Another large and (somewhat) meaty issue of CCNet for meteorheads.
Lew Gramer
------- Forwarded Message
From: Peiser Benny <B.J.Peiser@livjm.acdot uk>
To: cambridge-conference <cambridge-conference@livjm.acdot uk>
Subject: CCNet 93/2001 - 24 August 2001
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 09:26:24 +0100
CCNet 93/2001 - 24 August 2001
------------------------------
"Ceres, the first asteroid (minor planet) to be discovered in the
Solar System, has held the record as the largest known object of its kind
for two centuries. However, recent observations at the European
Southern Observatory with the world's first operational virtual
telescope, Astrovirtel, have determined that the newly discovered distant
asteroid '2001 KX76' is significantly larger, with a diameter of 1200
km, possibly even 1400 km."
--European Space Agency, 23 August 2001
(1) VIRTUAL TELESCOPE OBSERVES RECORD-BREAKING ASTEROID
European Space Agency, 23 August 2001
[...]
(6) BIG ENOUGH TO BURY DARWIN
The Guardian 23 August 2001
(7) WELL PRESERVED METEORITE YIELDS CLUES TO CARBON EVOLUTION IN SPACE
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
[...]
(9) ASTEROID 2001 PM9
Carl Hergenrother <chergen@fortuna.lpl.arizonadot edu>
(10) 2001 PM9: WE LUCKY FEW
Larry Robinson <lrobinsn@ixdot netcom.com>
(12) 2001 PM9 & INTERNATIONAL SPACE COOPERATION REPORT
Andy Smith <astrosafe@yahoo.com>
(13) PLANETARY DEFENSE
Christian Gritzner <christian.gritzner@mailbox.tu-dresdendot de>
(14) "RED HOT KILLER ASTEROID"
Phil Plait <badastro@badastronomy.com>
(15) DEFLECTION OF ASTEROIDS WITH NUCLEAR BOMBS
Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
(16) DEFLECTION OF ASTEROIDS WITH NUCLEAR BOMBS
John Michael Williams <jwill@AstraGatedot net>
(17) UPDATE ON TUNGUSKA
Luigi Foschini <foschini@tesre.bo.cnrdot it>
(18) SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT
Duncan Steel <D.I.Steel@salford.acdot uk>
(19) TAGISCH-LAKE METEORITE & SIR FRED HOYLE
Hermann Burchard <burchar@mail.math.okstate.
==================================================================
(1) VIRTUAL TELESCOPE OBSERVES RECORD-BREAKING ASTEROID
>From the European Space Agency, 23 August 2001
http://sci.esa.int/hubble/news/index.cfm?oid=28146
Virtual Telescope Observes Record-Breaking Asteroid - New data show that
'2001 KX76' is larger than Ceres
23-Aug-2001
Ceres, the first asteroid (minor planet) to be discovered in the Solar
System, has held the record as the largest known object of its kind for two
centuries. However, recent observations at the European Southern Observatory
with the world's first operational virtual telescope, Astrovirtel, have
determined that the newly discovered distant asteroid '2001 KX76' is
significantly larger, with a diameter of 1200 km, possibly even 1400 km.
Astrovirtel provides decisive data about 2001 KX76
By combining data from the world's first operational 'virtual telescope',
Astrovirtel, with that from a conventional telescope at the European
Southern Observatory (ESO) at La Silla (Chile), European astronomers have
determined the size of the newly found, remote asteroid, 2001 KX76.
Their measurements indicate that this icy rock has a diameter of at least
1200 km and is therefore larger than any other known asteroid in the Solar
System. The previous record-holder, the asteroid Ceres, was also the first
object of its type to be discovered - by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe
Piazzi on January 1, 1801. Its diameter is about 950 km, relegating it to
second place after holding the asteroid size record for two hundred years.
This conclusion is based on data from Astrovirtel, which has been operating
at the ESO headquarters in Garching (Germany) for about one year. This
advanced prototype science tool which in effect mimics a telescope provides
astronomers with access to a wide variety of high-quality data. The first
scientific results from Astrovirtel have allowed a substantial improvement
of the accuracy of the computed orbit for 2001 KX76. It is now possible to
confirm that this object is just outside that of the most remote known major
planet Pluto. Further analysis carried out by the team seems to indicate
that the orbit of 2001 KX76 is very similar to that of Pluto. Asteroid 2001
KX76 is even larger than Pluto's moon Charon (diameter 1150 km), adding fuel
to the fiery discussions concerning Pluto's status as a 'major' or 'minor'
planet. The new data show that 2001 KX76 is about half the size of Pluto
(diameter about 2300 km) and this increases the likelihood that there are
other bodies still to be discovered in the outer Solar System that are
similar in size to Pluto.
Observations of 2001 KX76
On July 2 2001, a group of American astronomers lead by Robert Millis
(Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona) announced the discovery of a
seemingly rather large so-called Kuiper Belt Object, designated 2001 KX76.
Objects of this type are icy planetary bodies that orbit beyond Neptune in
the distant region of the Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. More than
400 such objects are currently known and they are believed to be remnants of
the formation of the Solar System and consequently amongst the most
primitive and least-evolved objects available for study in the Solar System.
The first observations of 2001 KX76 were quite sparse, so the initial
estimates of the size of the new asteroid were very uncertain. However, it
did look large, possibly about the same size as the largest known asteroid,
Ceres, the diameter of which had earlier been measured at about 950 km.
A team of German, Finnish and Swedish astronomers took the initiative to
carry out a more accurate measurement of the size of 2001 KX76 within a
unique collaboration between Astrovirtel and a conventional ESO telescope at
the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The results show that this object is
definitely the largest Kuiper Belt Object so far discovered.
Determining the size of a distant asteroid
In order to measure the size of any asteroid, it is necessary first to
determine its orbit around the Sun, which gives its present distance from
the Earth. The next step is to estimate its 'albedo', i.e. the percentage of
incident sunlight reflected from its surface. From these numbers and the
measured, apparent brightness of the asteroid (as seen from the Earth), its
diameter can finally be derived.
To determine the orbit of 2001 KX76 the group used Astrovirtel to apply
automatic search software to scan through 'old' photographic plates obtained
with various telescopes, as well as recent CCD observations made with the
ESO Wide Field Imager (WFI) at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope on La Silla
(Chile).
The search was successful: the astronomers were able to find several
photographic plates on which faint images of 2001 KX76 could be identified -
some of these plates had been obtained as early as 1982. The exact sky
positions were measured and with accurate positional data now available over
a time span of no less than 18 years the team was able to compute the first,
high-precision orbit of 2001 KX76. This also allowed the current distance
from the Earth to be determined which turned out to be about 6.5 billion km
corresponding to 43 times the distance of the Earth from the Sun, or nearly
one-and-a-half times farther from the Sun than Neptune.
Combining this with a realistic assumption for the albedo of 2001 KX76 of 7
percent (corresponding to the albedo of another well-observed Kuiper Belt
Object, Varuna, and comparable to that of our own Moon), a diameter of no
less than 1200 km was obtained. Assuming instead an albedo of 2001 KX76 of
only 4 percent - a typical value for icy cometary nuclei - leads to the even
larger (although less likely) value of 1400 km.
A real name for 2001 KX76
Thanks to the work of this group of astronomers, the orbit of 2001 KX76 may
now be considered relatively secure and it may therefore soon receive a real
name. Following astronomical tradition, the discoverers have the right to
make a suggestion. The current custom dictates that a Kuiper Belt Object
must be given a mythological name associated with creation. The name must
then be confirmed by the International Astronomical Union before becoming
official.
With a little bit of luck ...
The observations made with ESO's Wide Field Imager were crucial for this
work to succeed in that they allowed this object's path to be tracked back
in time. However, luck admittedly also played a key role. "These
observations were originally made for a completely different project," says
Gerhard Hahn, team-leader for the project. "And we found the image of 2001
KX76 right at the edge of the WFI frames."
Jenni Virtanen, another member of the team, adds: "And if we hadn't used our
powerful methods to improve the orbit we would still be searching through
the archives."
Arno Gnaedig, a German amateur astronomer and team member, performed the new
and accurate position measurements and also calculated the new orbit on his
home computer: "To me this is a wonderful example of the fruitful
collaboration that can take place between well-equipped amateur astronomers
and professional astronomers," he says. "The Web and the access to 'virtual
observatories' means that amateur astronomers - located far from any 'real'
professional telescopes - can also make important contributions."
Following this success, the group is currently working on a study of the
long-term orbital evolution of 2001 KX76, accounting for orbital
uncertainties, in order to investigate the dynamical behaviour, and its
relationship to both Pluto and Neptune.
The Astrovirtel coordinator, Piero Benvenuti, comments: "These results are
thrilling for more than one reason. The latest in modern astronomical
technology combined with a novel scientific procedure have been able to
produce results that would otherwise have been very difficult to achieve. I
am very delighted to see the first important scientific results materialise
from our work with Astrovirtel."
The 'Virtual Observatory' concept, for which Astrovirtel is a prototype, is
the start of a new era in astronomy. A larger study project called the
'Astrophysical Virtual Observatory' is about to start within the Fifth EC
Framework programme as a collaboration between ESO, ESA (ST-ECF), the
University of Edinburgh (UK), CDS (Strasbourg, France), CNRS (Paris, France)
and the University of Manchester (UK).
Credit: ESA, ESO, Astrovirtel & Gerhard Hahn (German Aerospace Center, DLR,
Berlin)
Notes for editors
This is a joint Press Release by the Space Telescope European Coordinating
Facility (ST-ECF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Members of the group of scientists involved in these observations are:
Gerhard Hahn (German Aerospace Center, DLR, Berlin), Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist
(Uppsala University, Sweden), Karri Muinonen, Jukka Piironen and Jenni
Virtanen (University of Helsinki, Finland), Andreas Doppler and Arno Gnaedig
(Archenhold Sternwarte, Berlin, Germany) and Francesco Pierfederici
(ST-ECF/ESO).
Acknowledgments: Observations from Siding Spring Observatory (Digitized Sky
Survey 1), and NEAT/JPL were also used in the orbit determination.
Contacts
Lars Lindberg Christensen
Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre, Garching, Germany
Phone: +49-89-3200-6306 (089 in Germany)
Cellular (24 hr): +49-173-38-72-621 (0173 in Germany)
E-mail: lars@eso.org
Richard West
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
Phone: +49-(0)89-3200-6276
E-mail: rwest@eso.org
Gerhard Hahn
German Aerospace Center, DLR, Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49-30-670-55-417 (030 in Germany)
E-mail: gerhard.hahn@dlrdot de
Karri Muinonen
Observatory, University of Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358-(0)9-19122941
E-mail: Karri.Muinonen@Helsinki.Fi
Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist
Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, Sweden
Phone: +46-18-471-5977
E-mail: classe@astro.uu.se
More about Astrovirtel
Astrovirtel is a collaboration between Europe's largest astronomical
organisation, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the European
Space Agency (ESA). It is the first virtual astronomical telescope dedicated
to data mining and provides an interface between the scientists and the huge
amounts of data stored in scientific archives. This interface partly
consists of a combination of the development of special software tools that
incorporate advanced data query methods and the dedicated support of archive
astronomers.
Astrovirtel is a response to the rapid developments currently taking place
in the fields of telescope and detector construction, computer hardware,
data processing, archiving, and telescope operation.
Astronomical data archives increasingly resemble virtual gold mines of
information. Nowadays astronomical telescopes can image increasingly large
areas of the sky. They use an ever greater variety of different instruments
and are equipped with ever-larger detectors. The quantity of astronomical
data collected is thus rising dramatically, generating a corresponding
increase in potentially interesting research projects. Astrovirtel
facilitates such projects by enabling astronomers to access these archives.
Astrovirtel is supported by the European Commission (EC) within the 'Access
to Research Infrastructures' action under the 'Improving Human Potential &
the Socio-economic Knowledge Base' of the EC Fifth Framework Programme.
==================================================================
(6) BIG ENOUGH TO BURY DARWIN
>From The Guardian 23 August 2001
http://education.guardian.codot uk/higher/physicalscience/story/0,9836,541468,0
0.html
Lee Elliot Major looks at the theories that secured Sir Fred Hoyle's
reputation as one of the 20th century's leading scientists
Thursday August 23, 2001
Professor Fred Hoyle
Three ground-breaking scientific debates played a part in securing the
reputation of Sir Fred Hoyle, who died this week aged 86, as one of the
founding fathers of cosmology, the most creative astrophysicist of his time,
and the greatest scientific rebel of the late 20th century.
The formation of stars
Dr Hoyle helped to solve a problem that had dogged physicists for years: how
do stars create heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen? A sun
derives its power from the fusion of basic elements. But it was only when
Hoyle's identified the final link - a special state of carbon-12 - that the
full chain reaction could be understood. One of Hoyle's collaborators
received a Nobel Prize for their work.
The big bang theory
Hoyle coined the phrase 'big bang' to ridicule the theory that the cosmos
was created by a huge explosion 12bn years ago. Yet the phrase helped to
popularise the theory, assuming universal status among the very scientists
arguing the ripples of the great explosion can still be observed in a slowly
expanding universe today.
Hoyle's rival theory is that the universe exists in a steady state. It
contends that matter is constantly being created, so the expanding universe
remains roughly the same at all times, with no beginning or end. Few
scientists support Hoyle's steady state model.
Life originated from outer space
Even more controversial than Hoyle's cosmological theories, was his
contention that life did not evolve according to Darwin's theory of natural
selection, but was created from micro-organisms or biochemical compounds
from outer space. 'Panspermia' is based on the idea that mutating life-forms
continually fall from space.
Nor did Hoyle think this was a random process. He argued it was the
handiwork of a super-intelligent civilisation wishing to "seed" planet
Earth. Hoyle's research also attributed the onset of various epidemics to
interstellar viruses, drawing connections between asteroids and flu
outbreaks at schools in remote parts of England and Wales.
Hoyle's belief in a cosmic super-intelligence also surfaced during his
successful career as a science fiction writer. In his 1962 novel, A for
Andromeda, radio instructions were sent by aliens telling humans how to
build an all-powerful and destructive machine. The book was developed into a
BBC television series, starring Julie Christie.
Hoyleisms: A selection of quotes from the great man:
* "Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car
could go straight upwards."
*"There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don't know what it's a
plan for."
*"I don't see the logic of rejecting data just because they seem
incredible."
*"The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a
number with 40,000 naughts after is... It is big enough to bury Darwin and
the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this
planet nor any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they
must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence."
*"Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random
is so utterly minuscule as to make the random concept absurd, it becomes
sensible to think that the favourable properties of physics, on which life
depends, are in every respect deliberate... It is, therefore, almost
inevitable that our own measure of intelligence must reflect higher
intelligence - even to the extreme idealized limit of God."
*"The popular news media were back on the job now. Displaying to the full
their twin characteristics, incredible persistence and the incredible
inability to see the point, they clamored for an answer to the absurd
question: Could Martian computers be said to be really alive? [from Hoyle's
novel, Element 79]
Copyright 2001, The Guardian
==================================================================
(7) WELL PRESERVED METEORITE YIELDS CLUES TO CARBON EVOLUTION IN SPACE
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
Arizona State University
Contact:
James Hathaway, (480) 965-6375, Hathaway@asudot edu
Source:
Sandra Pizzarello, 480-965-3370, pizar@asudot edu
Embargoed until 2 p.m. EST, August 23, 2001
Well Preserved Meteorite Yields Clues to Carbon Evolution in Space
The first results are in from the organic analysis of the Tagish Lake
Meteorite, a rare, carbon-rich meteorite classified as a "carbonaceous
chondrite" that fell on a frozen Canadian lake in January 2000 and is the
most pristine specimen ever studied of this group of important space
objects. Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites contain vital clues to the
evolution of carbon compounds in our solar system preceding the origin of
life.
The analysis, conducted by a team headed by chemist Sandra Pizzarello, a
research scientist at Arizona State University, on 4.5 grams taken from the
sealed interior of the meteorite, found organic compounds in the meteorite
with some similarities to other known carbonaceous chondrites, but also
clear differences -- most notably the near-absence of the amino acids found
in some meteorites studied before.
In an article scheduled to appear in the August 24 issue of the online
journal Science Express
(http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1062614v1 , with publication
in Science to follow) the team notes that the chemistry of the Tagish Lake
Meteorite appears to preserve organics that accumulated or developed in the
early history of the Solar System -- including molecular bubbles of carbon
(fullerenes or "buckyballs") containing the noble gasses helium and argon in
a ratio similar to the gas and dust cloud that formed the planets -- and
thus perhaps reflects an early stage in a process of evolution of complex
carbon compounds in space.
"The chemistry here is different from that we have seen in any other
meteorite," said Pizzarello. "It's simple, when compared with Murchison (a
famous carbon meteorite found in Australia in 1969 that contained numerous
amino acids and a variety of other organic compounds) and probably
represents a separate line of chemical evolution. However, it still includes
compounds that are identical to biomolecules."
Other members of the research team include Yongsong Huang from the
Department of Geological Sciences at Brown University; Luann Becker from the
Institute for Crustal Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara;
Robert J. Poreda from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
University of Rochester; George Cooper from the NASA Ames Research Center;
and Ronald A. Nieman and Michael Williams, both also from ASU.
The Science paper notes that many of the organic compounds found in the
Tagish Lake sample have also been found in other meteorites, but that the
distribution of compounds is different, particularly for the amino acids and
carboxylic acids.
"Some people have been disappointed that we found virtually no amino acids,
but scientifically this is very exciting," Pizzarello said. "This meteorite
shows the complexity of the history of organic compounds in space -- it
seems to have had a distinct evolution.
"We found some compounds identical to some in Murchison that show the same
'interstellar connection' in their abundance of deuterium (heavy hydrogen),
while some others differ from Murchison in amounts and variety," said
Pizzarello, meaning that for some groups of organic molecules, only the
simplest species were found in Tagish Lake, as opposed to a broader
distribution of species found in Murchison. "Overall, Tagish Lake represents
a simpler, more unaltered stage than we have seen before."
What emerges from the analysis is evidence for what Pizzarello calls "a
different outcome" of organic chemical evolution in space likely to have
happened during the formation and development of the solar system, "but one
that still might have contributed molecular precursors of biomolecules to
the origins of life," she noted.
============
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM'S OLDEST RAW MATERIALS
News Service
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
News Service Contact:
Janet Kerlin, Science@browndot edu
For Immediate Release: August 23, 2001
Our solar system's oldest raw materials
Brown scientists identify Tagish Lake meteorite's origin in space
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Brown geologists Takahiro Hiroi and Carle Pieters and a
colleague from NASA have identified the location from which an unusually
well-preserved meteorite fell -- the mid-to-far end of the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter. Their results confirm that the Tagish Lake
meteorite is made of probably the oldest materials in the solar system.
To the amazement of observers, the fireball fell in northern British
Columbia in January 2000. The event was photographed, recorded by
satellites, and resulted in hundreds of fragments being collected from a
frozen lake. The meteorite was probably the size of van, but broke into
fragments that were preserved in ice from the lake.
Hiroi, Pieters and Michael Zolensky of NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston are the first to identify the carbon-rich meteorite as having broken
off from a D-type asteroid, the kind that most scientists acknowledge
contains the oldest raw materials among asteroids. Their results were
published by the journal Science, within the "Science Express" Web site, on
Aug. 23, 2001
[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1063734v1].
Their method, reflectance spectroscopy, provides an optical fingerprint
showing a meteorite's composition. Data is obtained by measuring the amount
of reflected light as wavelength is changed from visible to near-infrared.
Their study provides clues in determining the formation of the solar system
4.6 billion years ago. The research was funded by grants from NASA.
A second article on the "Science Express" Web site details the organic
content of the Tagish Lake meteorite. Brown assistant professor Yongsong
Huang is a co-author with lead investigator Sandra Pizzarello of the Arizona
State University Chemistry Department.
At Brown, the researchers used state-of-the art technology to measure the
isotopic composition of individual compounds. The findings provide insight
to an outcome of early solar chemical evolution that differs from any seen
in meteorites so far.
=================================================================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
==================================================================
(17) UPDATE ON TUNGUSKA
>From Luigi Foschini <foschini@tesre.bo.cnrdot it>
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
the Italian Scientific Expedition Tunguska99 has been carried out on July
1999, just 2 years ago. Now, first results begins to appear. You can find
new publications (abstracts and preprints) at the Tunguska web page of the
University of Bologna: http://www-th.bo.infndot it/tunguska/
specifically at the page dedicated to publications.
Among new publications, it is worth noting that the full paper (17 pages):
P. Farinella, L. Foschini, Ch. Froeschli, R. Gonczi, T.J. Jopek, G. Longo,
P. Michel:
Probable asteroidal origin of the Tunguska Cosmic Body.
has been accepted for the publication by Astronomy and Astrophysics. This
work originated from an idea of the late Paolo Farinella, deceased on March
25th, 2000. We dedicate it to him.
A preprint (PS or PDF) is available at the web page written above.
Greetings,
Luigi Foschini
Dr. Luigi Foschini
Istituto TeSRE - CNR
Via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy)
Tel. +39 051.6398706 - Fax +39 051.6398724
Email: foschini@tesre.bo.cnrdot it
Home : luifosc@tindot it
URL: http://tonno.tesre.bo.cnrdot it/~foschini/
==================================================================
(19) TAGISCH-LAKE METEORITE & SIR FRED HOYLE
>From Hermann Burchard <burchar@mail.math.okstatedot edu>
Dear Benny,
the leading German paper DIE WELT is reporting on the Tagish Lake Meteorite
in great detail, emphasizing its uniquely primitive composition, wealth of
organic molecules including Fullerenes, agreement of chemistry with the
spectra of type D asteroids from the outer belt, and grains
"older than the solar system."
http://www.weltdot de/daten/2001/08/24/0824astr277065.htx
Sir Fred Hoyle must have been delighted by the fortuitous recovery when it
occurred, as this confirmed some of his predictions (not sure about reports
of comments by him). I did see that he was quoted as believing in a universe
without limits in time and space, and denying the Big Bang, so named by him.
The less well known Inflationary Universe (in which we inhabit a small
fractal bubble if I got it right) would seem to suit his criteria better. I
wonder if a cosmology along those lines should not allow models without
beginning and end.
Mathematically the exact meaning of such statements is unclear, as even
things like the infinite line, plane, space, etc, are among many entities in
a mathematical, logical world, each with numberless copies. Such a world is
unlimited in other ways - often in paradoxical manner - explored by Georg
Cantor and Kurt G"odel. It is interesting to note that G"odel has published
on cosmology.
Immanuel Kant would have had none of any of this as being "outside of the
bounds of any possible experience", and I think he was largely right. What
eluded even him was the clear methodical distinction between our logical,
linguistic accounts of the universe, among which all of mathematics,
theoretical physics, and all cosmologies must be reckoned on the one hand,
and the actual universe on the other. The true question is then why this
universe does allow us to form logical, linguistic accounts of itself (which
are of course an albeit minuscule part of it).
Sir Fred's work - even if not always universally accepted - was honored on
CCNet by those who know him best whom I wish to join with admiration for a
vigorous proponent of the unity of science.
Regards,
Hermann G.W. Burchard
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