About Ahau
Ahau is an uncommon neo. It swings within 0.927 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
Its orbit genuinely intersects Earth's track around the Sun. The two paths cross; only the timing keeps them apart.
Uncommon neo 25 EP
Ahau
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Crosses Earth's orbit +8
- Has a proper name +8
- Near-Earth object +5
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit +4
Total score 25
9 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Near-Earth object · +5
- Crosses Earth's orbit · +8
- Has a proper name · +8
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit · +4
Trivia
What makes it special
- It crosses our path. Its orbit genuinely intersects Earth's track around the Sun. The two paths cross; only the timing keeps them apart.
What it actually is
- Its orbit family. An Apollo-class object: its orbit is wider than Earth's but crosses it. Most known Earth-crossers belong to this family.
- Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 0.93 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Earth.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 1.5 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 0.93 and 1.74 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is roughly 0.1× the height of Mount Everest.
Standing on it
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.72 m/s. A determined jump would launch you off it and into your own orbit around the Sun.
By the numbers
- Estimated size. Nobody has measured its size directly. Assuming it reflects light like a typical asteroid, its brightness implies something roughly 1.2 km across.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 1.74
- designation
- 24761
- eccentricity
- 0.3057
- full name
- 24761 Ahau (1993 BW2)
- h mag
- 17.37
- inclination
- 21.92
- mean motion deg day
- 0.6391
- moid au
- 0.101
- name
- Ahau
- named
- yes
- orbit class
- APO
- perihelion au
- 0.927
- semi major au
- 1.335
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, Ahau is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. Because it moves against the background stars, the live position panel on this page tracks where it is right now. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Ahau is an uncommon neo
Ahau scores 25 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 9 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Near-Earth object, Crosses Earth's orbit, Has a proper name and Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.