About Aya
Aya is an uncommon kbo. It swings within 41.273 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
A trans-Neptunian object from the Kuiper Belt, out where the Sun is little more than the brightest star in a very dark sky.
Uncommon kbo 33 EP
Aya
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
This object moves — fetching its current position…
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Trans-Neptunian object +12
- Notably bright (low H) +8
- Has a proper name +8
- Kuiper-belt object +5
Total score 33
1 more point to reach Rare.
Badges
- Kuiper-belt object · +5
- Notably bright (low H) · +8
- Has a proper name · +8
- Trans-Neptunian object · +12
Trivia
What it actually is
- Its orbit family. A trans-Neptunian object from the Kuiper Belt, out where the Sun is little more than the brightest star in a very dark sky.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 326 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 41.27 and 53.47 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is about 33.7× the length of Manhattan island.
- Walk around it. Walking its equator at a steady pace, eight hours a day, would take about 57.2 days.
By the numbers
- Estimated size. Nobody has measured its size directly. Assuming it reflects light like a typical asteroid, its brightness implies something roughly 729 km across.
What's in a name
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 53.46
- designation
- 55565
- eccentricity
- 0.1287
- full name
- 55565 Aya (2002 AW197)
- h mag
- 3.44
- inclination
- 24.34
- mean motion deg day
- 0.003
- moid au
- 40.3
- name
- Aya
- named
- yes
- orbit class
- TNO
- perihelion au
- 41.273
- rotation period h
- 8.86
- semi major au
- 47.37
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, Aya 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 Aya is an uncommon kbo
Aya scores 33 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Kuiper-belt object, Notably bright (low H), Has a proper name and Trans-Neptunian object — 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.