Torino scale
The official scale for quantifying the Earth impact hazard of near-Earth asteroids and comets, known collectively as near-Earth objects (NEOs). It was introduced at an International Conference on Near-Earth objects held in June 1999 in Torino, Italy, as a revised version of the "Near-Earth Object Hazard Index". It is a two-parameter scale that uses a number from 0 to 10 to indicate the chance of a collision, and a color to give information about the danger of the event (from white, non-dangerous, to red, catastrophic). An object that will make several different close approaches of Earth, will have a different Torino scale value for each approach; normally, only the highest of these values is considered to identify an object. The Torino scale value will change with time as an object's orbit becomes better known.
Related entry
• potentially hazardous asteroids
Related category
• ASTEROIDS AND OTHER MINOR PLANETS: TYPES AND GROUPS
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