The Ones That Cross Mars Screensaver
The The Ones That Cross Mars screensaver shows amor-class asteroids from JPL's Small-Body Database, key-less. Amors approach Earth's orbit without crossing it — they cross Mars instead — and Eros, the first asteroid discovered and the first landed on, is one. Diameter and albedo are blank for most of the class because knowing how big a rock is requires thermal observations most have never had, so a blank is drawn as a dash and never as a zero. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the The Ones That Cross Mars screensaver works
The saver reads the source described above and draws it on a canvas — no account, no tracking.
Amor-class asteroids from JPL's Small-Body Database, key-less. Amors approach Earth's orbit without crossing it — they cross Mars instead — and Eros, the first asteroid discovered and the first landed on, is one. Diameter and albedo are blank for most of the class because knowing how big a rock is requires thermal observations most have never had, so a blank is drawn as a dash and never as a zero.
It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.
Colours can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.
A worked example
Amor-class asteroids from JPL's Small-Body Database, key-less. Amors approach Earth's orbit without crossing it — they cross Mars instead — and Eros, the first asteroid discovered and the first landed on, is one. Diameter and albedo are blank for most of the class because knowing how big a rock is requires thermal observations most have never had, so a blank is drawn as a dash and never as a zero.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display.
- Every value on screen comes from the live source — nothing is simulated.
- Press ESC to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — it comes from the source named on this page and is refreshed on a schedule.
- Is a key needed?
- No. This source is fully key-less.
- Is it free?
- Yes, and it runs entirely in your browser.