Pick a real historical near-Earth-object case, then scrub the approach to watch the asteroid's beacon match its actual IAU Torino Impact Hazard Scale band on the 0-10 grid below.
The Torino Impact Hazard Scale turns two things - impact probability and expected consequence - into one 0-10 number the public can read at a glance. 99942 Apophis carries the highest rating ever assigned to a real object (Torino 4, December 2004) before a longer observed arc brought it back down to 0 in 2006.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. For the single 2013 impact event that happened with no advance warning at all, see the Chelyabinsk Meteor 3D Explorer; for the geometry of Apophis's one specific 2029 close approach, see the Apophis 2029 Flyby 3D Explorer.
Torino Impact Hazard Scale 3D Explorer
This browser explorer places three real near-Earth-object cases on the IAU Torino Impact Hazard Scale, then shows an approaching asteroid's beacon change color to match each case's actual assigned band.
The Torino Impact Hazard Scale is a 0-10 integer scale developed by Richard Binzel (MIT), adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1999 and revised in 2005. It combines impact probability and expected consequence into one number with five color bands: 0 White (no hazard), 1 Green (a normal event with no unusual danger), 2-4 Yellow (merits attention by astronomers), 5-7 Orange (a threatening event), and 8-10 Red (a certain collision). Asteroid 99942 Apophis carries the highest Torino rating ever assigned to a real object: on 2004-12-27 it was rated 4 over a possible 2029 impact. A longer observed arc refined its orbit and dropped the rating to 0 by August 2006, and NASA JPL radar tracking on 2021-03-25 definitively ruled out any Apophis impact risk for at least the next 100 years. The near-Earth object 2023 DW was briefly rated Torino 1 in 2023 over a small chance of a 2046 impact before refined tracking removed it from the risk list. NASA JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) Sentry system continuously re-assesses these ratings as new observations arrive, so a Torino number is a snapshot of current knowledge, not a fixed verdict.
- Pick a historical case: Apophis Dec 2004, Apophis refined Aug 2006, or 2023 DW
- Watch the asteroid's beacon match that case's real Torino band color
- Play or scrub the approach path toward Earth
- See the outlined cell on the 0-10 band grid for the picked case
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Case | Torino rating | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Apophis, Dec 2004 | 4 (Yellow) | Highest rating ever assigned to a real object, over a possible 2029 impact |
| Apophis, refined Aug 2006 | 0 (White) | Longer observed arc refined the orbit; risk removed (2021 NASA radar confirmed no impact risk for 100+ years) |
| 2023 DW, 2023 | 1 (Green) | Small chance of a 2046 impact; later removed from the risk list |
For the single 2013 impact event that struck with no advance warning at all - so it was never Torino-rated beforehand - open the Chelyabinsk Meteor 3D Explorer. For the geometry of Apophis's one specific 2029 close approach, open the Apophis 2029 Flyby 3D Explorer.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation - the approach path, closest-approach distance, and on-screen asteroid size are exaggerated for visibility, not a to-scale orbital-dynamics or risk-assessment simulation. The five band colors and the three cited historical ratings are the real IAU/NASA-JPL-published values.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Torino Impact Hazard Scale?
A 0-10 integer scale developed by Richard Binzel (MIT), adopted by the IAU in 1999 and revised in 2005, that combines an asteroid's impact probability and expected consequence into one public-facing number.
What do the five color bands mean?
0 White is no hazard, 1 Green is a normal event with no unusual danger, 2-4 Yellow merits attention by astronomers, 5-7 Orange is a threatening event, and 8-10 Red is a certain collision.
What was Apophis's Torino rating in 2004?
4 - the highest rating ever assigned to a real object at the time, given on 2004-12-27 over a possible 2029 impact.
Why did Apophis's rating drop to 0?
A longer observed arc through August 2006 refined its orbit enough to remove the impact risk. NASA JPL radar tracking on 2021-03-25 later definitively ruled out any Apophis impact for at least the next 100 years.
What happened with 2023 DW?
It was briefly rated Torino 1 in 2023 over a small chance of a 2046 impact. Refined tracking later removed it from the risk list.
Who keeps these ratings up to date?
NASA JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) Sentry system continuously re-assesses Torino and Palermo ratings as new observations arrive - a rating is a snapshot of current knowledge, not a fixed verdict.
How is this different from the Chelyabinsk and Apophis-2029-flyby pages?
The Chelyabinsk meteor struck in 2013 with no advance warning, so it was never Torino-rated beforehand. The Apophis-2029-flyby page covers the geometry of one specific 2029 close approach. This page is the classification scale itself, compared across several real historical cases.
Is the on-screen approach path real physics?
The band colors and the three cited ratings are the real IAU/NASA-JPL-published values. The approach path, closest-approach distance, and on-screen asteroid size are exaggerated for visibility, not a to-scale orbital-dynamics simulation.