About 2006 SO198
2006 SO198 is a rare neo. It swings within 0.264 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
An Apollo-class object: its orbit is wider than Earth's but crosses it. Most known Earth-crossers belong to this family.
Rare neo 37 EP
2006 SO198
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 5 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Passes within two lunar distances of Earth's orbit +18
- Wildly elliptical orbit +10
- 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
- Catalogue designation only
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit · +4
- Passes within two lunar distances of Earth's orbit · +18
Trivia
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 0.26 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 0.26 and 3.59 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is about 0.5 football pitches across.
Standing on it
- Sunlight there. At closest approach the Sun beats down about 14.3 times harder than it ever does on Earth.
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.03 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 52 metres across.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 3.59
- designation
- 2006 SO198
- eccentricity
- 0.8632
- full name
- (2006 SO198)
- h mag
- 24.19
- inclination
- 9.77
- mean motion deg day
- 0.3684
- moid au
- 0.0023
- name
- 2006 SO198
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- APO
- perihelion au
- 0.264
- semi major au
- 1.927
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, 2006 SO198 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 2006 SO198 is a rare neo
2006 SO198 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 5 science badges — Near-Earth object, Wildly elliptical orbit, Catalogue designation only, Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit and Passes within two lunar distances of 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.