About 2019 AQ3
2019 AQ3 is a rare neo. It swings within 0.404 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 43 EP
2019 AQ3
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 5 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Atira: orbits entirely inside Earth's +26
- Crosses Earth's orbit +8
- Near-Earth object +5
- Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) +4
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 43
7 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Near-Earth object · +5
- Crosses Earth's orbit · +8
- Catalogue designation only
- Atira: orbits entirely inside Earth's · +26
- Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) · +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 Atira: its entire orbit lies inside Earth's. Only a couple of dozen are known, because they are never in a dark sky when we are.
- Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 0.4 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Venus.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 165 days.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 0.4 and 0.77 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is roughly 0.1× the height of Mount Everest.
Standing on it
- Sunlight there. At closest approach the Sun beats down about 6.1 times harder than it ever does on Earth.
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.68 m/s. A determined jump would launch you off it and into your own orbit around the Sun.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 0.77
- designation
- 2019 AQ3
- eccentricity
- 0.3144
- full name
- (2019 AQ3)
- h mag
- 17.48
- inclination
- 47.22
- mean motion deg day
- 2.183
- moid au
- 0.227
- name
- 2019 AQ3
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- IEO
- perihelion au
- 0.404
- semi major au
- 0.5886
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, 2019 AQ3 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 2019 AQ3 is a rare neo
2019 AQ3 scores 43 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 7 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Near-Earth object, Crosses Earth's orbit, Catalogue designation only, Atira: orbits entirely inside Earth's and Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) — 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.