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Uncommon neo 31 EP

(863778) 2014 VQ

Position computed live · sbdb

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Live ephemeris

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
31 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Spinning past the rubble-pile limit +22
  • Near-Earth object +5
  • Amor: shadows Earth's orbit from outside +4
  • Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 31

3 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Near-Earth object · +5
  • Catalogue designation only
  • Amor: shadows Earth's orbit from outside · +4
  • Spinning past the rubble-pile limit · +22

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Its orbit family. An Amor-class object. It approaches Earth's orbit from outside without ever crossing it — named for the asteroid Amor, which swept past at 16 million km in 1932.
  • Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 1.08 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Mars.
  • One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 1.7 years.
  • How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 1.08 and 1.81 AU from the Sun.

Sense of scale

  • Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is about 2.8 football pitches across.

Standing on it

  • Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.18 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 295 metres across.

What's in a name

  • Designation. Known only by its catalogue designation — no name yet.

Properties

aphelion au
1.81
designation
863778
eccentricity
0.2551
full name
863778 (2014 VQ)
h mag
20.4
inclination
18.48
mean motion deg day
0.5672
moid au
0.0897
name
(863778) 2014 VQ
number only
yes
orbit class
AMO
perihelion au
1.077
rotation period h
0.116
semi major au
1.445

About (863778) 2014 VQ

(863778) 2014 VQ is an uncommon neo. It swings within 1.077 AU of the Sun at perihelion.

An Amor-class object. It approaches Earth's orbit from outside without ever crossing it — named for the asteroid Amor, which swept past at 16 million km in 1932.

How to see it

Like any astronomical target, (863778) 2014 VQ 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 (863778) 2014 VQ is an uncommon neo

(863778) 2014 VQ 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 4 science badges — Near-Earth object, Catalogue designation only, Amor: shadows Earth's orbit from outside and Spinning past the rubble-pile limit — 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.