Minor Planet Center vs Noctua
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
Minor Planet Center vs Noctua: common questions
Which is more reliable, Minor Planet Center or Noctua?
On our scheduled checks, Noctua leads on measured uptime — Minor Planet Center at 99.02% versus Noctua at 100% over 90 days. These are our own probe results, not provider claims; the uptime bars above show the day-by-day record for both.
Which is faster, Minor Planet Center or Noctua?
Minor Planet Center has the lower median latency in our checks — Minor Planet Center responds in 217 ms versus Noctua at 742 ms (P50). Tail latency (P95) is in the table above; for most workloads the median is the number that shapes how the API feels.
Do Minor Planet Center and Noctua need an API key?
Neither needs a paid key — Minor Planet Center is callable with no signup, and Noctua is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.
Can I call Minor Planet Center and Noctua from the browser?
Neither sends browser-friendly CORS headers reliably, so call Minor Planet Center and Noctua from a server or proxy rather than client-side. The CORS and HTTPS rows above show exactly what we detected for each.
Are Minor Planet Center and Noctua free for commercial use?
Minor Planet Center has unclear commercial terms, and Noctua has unclear commercial terms. We track service terms and the data license as separate fields — see the Commercial use and Data license rows above, and confirm both before shipping either in a paid product.