Asteroid Watch — Live Near-Earth Object Tracker and Close Approach Board

Every week, several asteroids pass closer to Earth than the Moon. Almost all of them are harmless — but “almost all” is exactly why tracking them is interesting. This board pulls the near-Earth object feed and lays out what is coming: how big, how fast, how close, and when.

What does the asteroid tracker show for each object?

Each close approach lists the object’s designation, its estimated diameter range, relative velocity, miss distance in lunar distances, and the exact approach time. Objects flagged as potentially hazardous by NASA’s criteria are marked separately — that flag is about orbit geometry, not imminent danger, and the board makes the distinction readable at a glance.

How close is “close” for a near-Earth asteroid?

Space is big. An asteroid passing at 5 lunar distances is comfortably far — about two million kilometers — yet that is close enough to be tracked and listed. The board sorts by approach distance so the genuinely tight passes stand out from the routine ones. Anything inside one lunar distance gets the attention it deserves.

Where does the data come from?

The feed is NASA’s Near-Earth Object program — the same catalog that professional observatories update as new objects are discovered and orbits refined. Estimates change as measurements improve, so the board refreshes rather than freezing a snapshot.

Is this just for astronomers?

No. If you read a headline like “asteroid to pass Earth on Friday” and want to know whether to care — this is the page. Size plus distance plus velocity, on one screen, without the tabloid framing.

Open Asteroid Watch

→ logicencoder.com/asteroid-watch/

All Logic Encoder tools at the applications page.