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Minor Planet Center vs Open Notify

Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.

APIMinor Planet CenterNEW—Open NotifyDYING—
Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d—%—%
Uptime · 30d—%—%
P50 · ms——
P95 · ms——
Authnonenone
CORSyesyes
HTTPSnono
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearunclear
Data licenseUnverified (data derived from JPL/MPC)n/a
Free tierFree — limits not publishedUnlimited (volunteer-run)
Rate limitUnpublishedPlease be gentle
In directory since2026-07-052026-05-02
operationalpartialdownno data

Minor Planet Center vs Open Notify: common questions

Which is more reliable, Minor Planet Center or Open Notify?

On our scheduled checks, Open Notify leads on measured uptime — Minor Planet Center at —% versus Open Notify at —% over 90 days. These are our own probe results, not provider claims; the uptime bars above show the day-by-day record for both.

Do Minor Planet Center and Open Notify need an API key?

Neither needs a paid key — Minor Planet Center is callable with no signup, and Open Notify is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.

Can I call Minor Planet Center and Open Notify from the browser?

Neither sends browser-friendly CORS headers reliably, so call Minor Planet Center and Open Notify 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 Open Notify free for commercial use?

Minor Planet Center has unclear commercial terms, and Open Notify 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.