About 2001 SQ3
2001 SQ3 is a rare neo. It swings within 0.827 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 43 EP
2001 SQ3
Position computed live · sbdb
Loading sky survey…
Live ephemeris
This object moves — fetching its current position…
Score breakdown
· 5 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Spinning past the rubble-pile limit +22
- Potentially hazardous +12
- Near-Earth object +5
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit +4
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 43
7 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Near-Earth object · +5
- Potentially hazardous · +12
- Catalogue designation only
- Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit · +4
- Spinning past the rubble-pile limit · +22
Trivia
Handle with care
- What 'hazardous' means. 'Potentially hazardous' is bookkeeping, not a prediction: it means the orbit passes within 0.05 AU of Earth's and the body is big enough to matter. Nothing on that list is known to be on a collision course.
- If it ever hit. A rock this size arriving at a typical 20 km/s would release around 197 megatons — about 3.9 times the largest bomb ever detonated.
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 0.83 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Earth.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 1.2 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 0.83 and 1.39 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is about 1.4 football pitches across.
Standing on it
- Don't jump. Escape velocity here is only around 0.09 m/s. A determined jump would launch you off it and into your own orbit around the Sun.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 1.39
- designation
- 2001 SQ3
- eccentricity
- 0.2545
- full name
- (2001 SQ3)
- h mag
- 21.95
- inclination
- 23.9
- mean motion deg day
- 0.8429
- moid au
- 0.0295
- name
- 2001 SQ3
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- APO
- perihelion au
- 0.827
- pha
- yes
- rotation period h
- 0.0625
- semi major au
- 1.11
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, 2001 SQ3 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 2001 SQ3 is a rare neo
2001 SQ3 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, Potentially hazardous, Catalogue designation only, Apollo: crosses Earth's orbit 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.