704 Interamnia
704 Interamnia is a large F-type asteroid. With an estimated mean diameter of 330 kilometres, it is the fifth-largest asteroid after Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea. Its mean distance from the Sun is 3.067 (AU). It was discovered on 2 October 1910 by Vincenzo Cerulli, and named after the Latin name for Teramo, Italy, where Cerulli worked. It is probably the fifth-to-eighth-most-massive asteroid, with a mass estimated to be 1.2% of the mass of the entire asteroid belt.[5] Observations by the Very Large Telescope's SPHERE imager in 2017–2019 shows that Interamnia is close to round. This has been interpreted as indicating that it may be near hydrostatic equilibrium and thus represent a transitional body between small solar system bodies and dwarf planets.[3] However, it is less round that 10 Hygiea, which is nearly round because it was shattered in a collision and re-accreted, which does not fit the IAU definition of a dwarf planet.[6]
![]() VLT-SPHERE image of Interamnia | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Vincenzo Cerulli |
Discovery date | 2 October 1910 |
Designations | |
(704) Interamnia | |
Pronunciation | /ɪntərˈæmniə/[1] |
Named after | Teramo |
1910 KU; 1952 MW | |
Main belt | |
Adjectives | Interamnian /ɪntərˈæmniən/[1] |
Orbital characteristics[2] | |
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 102.38 yr (37395 d) |
Aphelion | 3.5293 AU (527.98 Gm) |
Perihelion | 2.5857 AU (386.82 Gm) |
3.0575 AU (457.40 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.15431 |
5.35 yr (1952.8 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 16.92 km/s |
276.11° | |
0° 11m 3.66s / day | |
Inclination | 17.309° |
280.30° | |
95.208° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 362 × 348 × 310 ± 8 km[3] |
Mean diameter | 332±6 km (volume equivalent)[3] |
Mass | (3.79±1.28)×1019 kg[3] |
Mean density | 1.98±0.68 g/cm3[3] |
8.712336 h[3] | |
Pole ecliptic latitude | 62±5° |
Pole ecliptic longitude | 87±5° |
0.0742±0.002[2] | |
F/B[2] | |
9.9 to 13.0[4] | |
5.94[2] | |
Characteristics


Although Interamnia is the largest asteroid after the "big four", it is a very little-studied body. It is easily the largest of the F-type asteroids, but until 2017-2019 there existed very few details of its internal composition or shape, and no light curve analysis has yet been done to determine the ecliptic coordinates of Interamnia's poles (and hence its axial tilt). Studies by the Very Large Telescope give an average diameter of about 332 km and found an ellipsoidal shape for Interamnia, similar to 4 Vesta; the resulting density calculation (1.98 ± 0.68 g · cm^3) is not precise enough to definitely infer Interamnia's composition, but the presence of hydrated materials at the surface and its overall spectral similarities to Ceres suggest that it is likely an icy body. The absence of an affiliated asteroid family implies that Interamnia has not suffered a giant impact within the past 3 billion years[7], in contrast to 4 Vesta and 10 Hygeia.[8][9]
Its very dark surface and relatively large distance from the Sun means Interamnia can never be seen with 10x50 binoculars. At most oppositions its magnitude is around +11.0, which is less than the minimum brightness of Vesta, Ceres or Pallas. Even at a perihelic opposition its magnitude is only +9.9,[4] which is over four magnitudes lower than Vesta.
Its orbit is slightly more eccentric than that of Hygiea (15% versus 12%) but differs from Hygiea's in its much greater inclination and slightly shorter period. Another difference is that Interamnia's perihelion is located on the opposite side from the perihelia of the "big four", so that Interamnia at perihelion is actually closer to the Sun than Ceres and Pallas are at the same longitude. It is unlikely to collide with Pallas because their nodes are located too far apart, whilst although its nodes are located on the opposite side from those of Ceres, it is generally clear of Ceres when both cross the same orbital plane and a collision is again unlikely.
Size
IRAS measurements in 1983 estimated the asteroid to be 317 ± 5 km in diameter.[2] An occultation in 1996 produced a diameter of 329 km.[10] Observations of a favorable occultation of a bright 6.6 magnitude star on March 23, 2003, produced thirty-five chords indicating an ellipsoid of 350×304 km,[11][12] thus giving the asteroid a geometric mean diameter of 326 km.
Surface
There are no deep basins visible in the VLT images. Any large craters must have flat floors, consistent with an icy C/F-type composition.[13]
Mass
In 2001, Michalak estimated Interamnia to have a mass of 6.9×1019 kg. Michalak's estimate depends on the masses of 19 Fortuna, 29 Amphitrite, and 16 Psyche; thus this mass was obtained assuming an incomplete dynamical model.[14]
In 2007, Baer and Chesley estimated Interamnia to have a mass of (7.12±0.84)×1019 kg.[15] As of 2010, Baer suggests Interamnia has a mass of only (3.90±0.18)×1019 kg.[16] This makes it more massive than 511 Davida, though the error bars overlap.[16]
Goffin's 2014 astrometric reanalysis gives an even lower mass of 2.725 ± 0.12×1019 kg (and has 3.00 ± 0.1 ×1019 kg for 511 Davida).[17]

Sun Earth · Mars · Jupiter · 704 Interamnia

See also
Notes
References
- "interamnian". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 704 Interamnia (1910 KU)" (2008-04-14 last obs). Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- Hanuš, J.; Vernazza, P.; Viikinkoski, M.; Ferrais, M.; Rambaux, N.; Podlewska-Gaca, E.; et al. (29 November 2019). "(704) Interamnia: A transitional object between a dwarf planet and a typical irregular-shaped minor body". arXiv:1911.13049 [astro-ph.EP].
- "Bright Minor Planets 2007". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- Pitjeva, E. V. (2005). "High-Precision Ephemerides of Planets—EPM and Determination of Some Astronomical Constants" (PDF). Solar System Research. 39 (3): 176–186. Bibcode:2005SoSyR..39..176P. doi:10.1007/s11208-005-0033-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2008. 15 = 0.0124
- Binary asteroid (31) Euphrosyne: Ice-rich and nearly spherical, 2020, arXiv:2007.08059
- A bot will complete this citation soon. Click here to jump the queue arXiv:1911.13049.
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-geologically-recent-giant-impact-basins-at-Schenk-O'brien/c4022b20a7042ae75992b87a27cfa1e853cfbbb1
- https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1918/eso1918a.pdf
- Buie, Marc W.; Wasserman; Millis (1997). "Occultation of GSC 23450183 by (704) Interamnia on 1996 December 17". American Astronomical Society. 29: 973. Bibcode:1997DPS....29.0710B.
- Nugent, Richard (23 March 2003). "704 Interamnia 2003 Mar 23". Richard's Astronomy Pages. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- MacRobert, Alan (13 March 2014). "Asteroid to Black Out Bright Star Regulus". Sky & Telescope.
- Hanuš et al. 2020
- Michalak, G. (2001). "Determination of asteroid masses". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 374 (2): 703–711. Bibcode:2001A&A...374..703M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010731. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
- Baer, Jim; Steven R. Chesley (2008). "Astrometric masses of 21 asteroids, and an integrated asteroid ephemeris". Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007. 100 (2008): 27–42. Bibcode:2008CeMDA.100...27B. doi:10.1007/s10569-007-9103-8.
- Baer, James (2010). "Recent Asteroid Mass Determinations". Personal Website. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- Goffin, Edwin (2014). "Astrometric asteroid masses: A simultaneous determination". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 565: A56. arXiv:1402.4241. Bibcode:2014A&A...565A..56G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322766.
External links
- Animation of Asteroid Interamnia taken on April 1 & 2, 2003
- Interamnia Occultations Observed before 2003
- Occultation of GSC 23450183 by 704 Interamnia on 17 December 1996
- Occultation of HIP36189 by 704 Interamnia on 23 March 2003
- P54B-02 - (704) Interamnia: A transition object between a dwarf planet and a typical irregular-shaped minor body
- 704 Interamnia at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 704 Interamnia at the JPL Small-Body Database