About (364877) 2008 EM9
(364877) 2008 EM9 is an uncommon neo. It swings within 0.289 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 31 EP
(364877) 2008 EM9
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 6 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Wildly elliptical orbit +10
- Crosses Earth's orbit +8
- Near-Earth object +5
- Tiny fragment (<1 km) +4
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit +4
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 31
3 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Near-Earth object · +5
- Wildly elliptical orbit · +10
- Tiny fragment (<1 km) · +4
- Crosses Earth's orbit · +8
- Catalogue designation only
- 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 0.29 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Mercury.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 2.7 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 0.29 and 3.63 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is about 7.5 football pitches across.
Standing on it
- Sunlight there. At closest approach the Sun beats down about 12 times harder than it ever does on Earth.
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.47 m/s. A determined jump would launch you off it and into your own orbit around the Sun.
Properties
- albedo
- 0.317
- aphelion au
- 3.63
- designation
- 364877
- diameter km
- 0.786
- eccentricity
- 0.8524
- full name
- 364877 (2008 EM9)
- h mag
- 17.34
- inclination
- 9.44
- mean motion deg day
- 0.3595
- moid au
- 0.135
- name
- (364877) 2008 EM9
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- APO
- perihelion au
- 0.289
- rotation period h
- 43.6586
- semi major au
- 1.959
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, (364877) 2008 EM9 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 (364877) 2008 EM9 is an uncommon neo
(364877) 2008 EM9 scores 31 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Near-Earth object, Wildly elliptical orbit, Tiny fragment (<1 km), Crosses Earth's orbit, Catalogue designation only 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.