Is this real asteroid data?

Yes. The approaches come from NASA/JPL's official close-approach database, refreshed by the pipeline, so the dates and miss distances are real.

What is a lunar distance?

One lunar distance (LD) is the average Earth-to-Moon gap, about 384,000 km. The rings use it so you can see which asteroids pass closer than the Moon.

Are any of these going to hit Earth?

No — these are catalogued safe close approaches. Ones flagged as potentially hazardous are simply larger and pass relatively near, not on a collision course.

Why does it use a pipeline?

JPL's database isn't readable directly from a browser, so a small background script fetches it and saves a snapshot the saver loads.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Asteroid Watch Screensaver

The Asteroid Watch screensaver is a radar scope of near-Earth asteroids making their closest approaches over the coming days, with their miss distances and speeds, from NASA/JPL's key-less close-approach database via the pipeline. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Asteroid Watch screensaver works

A background pipeline queries NASA/JPL's close-approach database — the public catalogue of asteroids passing near Earth — and saves the upcoming approaches.

The saver draws a radar scope with Earth at the centre and range rings measured in lunar distances (the Earth-Moon gap).

Each asteroid is plotted at a radius set by its real miss distance and sized by its estimated diameter, with a sweeping radar line pinging across them.

A list reads off the next approaches with their date, miss distance and speed; potentially hazardous ones are flagged.

A worked example

The scope sweeps and pings on rocks like 2026 MQ2 · 1.3 LD · 11 km/s — passing closer than the Moon — while more distant asteroids sit out near the edge of the rings. Larger or closer ones glow brighter as the radar line crosses them.

Settings & tips

Scope color recolours the radar display.
Background sets the scope backdrop.
Run automation/run.py asteroids on your pipeline machine to refresh the approaches.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real asteroid data?: Yes. The approaches come from NASA/JPL's official close-approach database, refreshed by the pipeline, so the dates and miss distances are real.
What is a lunar distance?: One lunar distance (LD) is the average Earth-to-Moon gap, about 384,000 km. The rings use it so you can see which asteroids pass closer than the Moon.
Are any of these going to hit Earth?: No — these are catalogued safe close approaches. Ones flagged as potentially hazardous are simply larger and pass relatively near, not on a collision course.
Why does it use a pipeline?: JPL's database isn't readable directly from a browser, so a small background script fetches it and saves a snapshot the saver loads.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

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