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Minor Planet Center vs USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

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

APIMinor Planet CenterHEALTHY96USGS Earthquake Hazards ProgramHEALTHY94
Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d93.8%100%
Uptime · 30d82.8%100%
P50 · ms131286
P95 · ms7893561
Authnonenone
CORSyesyes
HTTPSnoyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearyes
Data licenseUnverified (data derived from JPL/MPC)Public domain (U.S. Government work)
Free tierFree — limits not publishedFree — no API key required
Rate limitUnpublishedUnpublished
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

Minor Planet Center vs USGS Earthquake Hazards Program: common questions

Which is more reliable, Minor Planet Center or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program?

On our scheduled checks, USGS Earthquake Hazards Program leads on measured uptime — Minor Planet Center at 93.8% versus USGS Earthquake Hazards Program 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 USGS Earthquake Hazards Program?

Minor Planet Center has the lower median latency in our checks — Minor Planet Center responds in 131 ms versus USGS Earthquake Hazards Program at 286 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 USGS Earthquake Hazards Program need an API key?

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

Can I call Minor Planet Center and USGS Earthquake Hazards Program from the browser?

Only USGS Earthquake Hazards Program is browser-friendly — it returns CORS headers over HTTPS. Minor Planet Center needs a server-side call or proxy, so factor that into which one fits a front-end project.

Are Minor Planet Center and USGS Earthquake Hazards Program free for commercial use?

Minor Planet Center has unclear commercial terms, and USGS Earthquake Hazards Program allows commercial use on its free tier. 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.