About 2003 RW11
2003 RW11 is a rare neo. It swings within 0.46 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.
Rare neo 37 EP
2003 RW11
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 6 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Wildly elliptical orbit +10
- Darker than charcoal +10
- Crosses Earth's orbit +8
- Near-Earth object +5
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit +4
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 37
13 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Near-Earth object · +5
- Wildly elliptical orbit · +10
- Crosses Earth's orbit · +8
- Catalogue designation only
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit · +4
- Darker than charcoal · +10
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 0.46 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Venus.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 4.3 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 0.46 and 4.8 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is roughly 0.2× the height of Mount Everest.
Standing on it
- Sunlight there. At closest approach the Sun beats down about 4.7 times harder than it ever does on Earth.
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.91 m/s. A determined jump would launch you off it and into your own orbit around the Sun.
Properties
- albedo
- 0.026
- aphelion au
- 4.8
- designation
- 2003 RW11
- diameter km
- 1.507
- eccentricity
- 0.8251
- full name
- (2003 RW11)
- h mag
- 18.7
- inclination
- 10.34
- mean motion deg day
- 0.2313
- moid au
- 0.0738
- name
- 2003 RW11
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- APO
- perihelion au
- 0.46
- semi major au
- 2.629
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, 2003 RW11 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 2003 RW11 is a rare neo
2003 RW11 scores 37 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 13 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Near-Earth object, Wildly elliptical orbit, Crosses Earth's orbit, Catalogue designation only, Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit and Darker than charcoal — 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.