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By AARON SKETCHLEY (aaronsketch@HOTdelete_thisMAIL.com) 2019.12.15 Ver 1.0

Official Setting information is in darkgreen. Extended Universe information is in steelblue.

The Solar System - The Asteroid Belt

  • Inner Solar System

    2.0 AU
  • Hungaria family
  • 8 Flora
  • Flora family
  • 4 Vesta
  • Vesta family
  • 7 Iris
  • 9 Metis
  • Phocaea family
  • Nysa family
  • 6 Hebe
  • 21 Lutetia
  • 19 Fortuna
    2.5 AU
  • Alinda family
  • Maria family
  • 29 Amphitrite
  • 5 Astraea
  • 13 Egeria
  • 15 Eunomia
  • Eunomia family
  • 85 Io
  • 3 Juno
  • Juno Clump
  • 324 Bamberga
  • 45 Eugenia
  • 2 Pallas
  • Pallas family
  • Gefion family
  • 93 Minerva
    Ceres
  • 88 Thisbe
  • Koronis family
    3.0 AU
  • 16 Psyche
  • Eos family
  • 704 Interamnia
    10 Hygiea
  • Hygiea family
  • Themis family
  • 511 Davida
  • Hecuba-gap asteroid
  • 87 Sylvia
  • Cybele asteroid
    4.0 AU
  • Hilda Asteroid


  • Outer Solar System
  • Trans-Neptunian & Farthest Regions
  • The asteroid belt is a ring-shaped region in the Solar System—located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter—that is occupied by a great many solid, irregularly shaped asteroids that are of many sizes much smaller than planets. This asteroid belt is also called the main asteroid belt or main belt, to distinguish it from other asteroid populations in the Solar System; such as near-Earth asteroids and trojan asteroids.
  • Jupiter trojans
  • Hilda asteroids (Hildas)
  • Asteroid belt
  • Near-Earth objects (selection)
  • About half the mass of the belt is contained in the four largest asteroids: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea. The total mass of the asteroid belt is approximately 4% that of the Moon, or 22% that of Pluto.

    Ceres, the only object in the asteroid belt large enough to be called a dwarf planet, is about 950 km in diameter, whereas Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea have mean diameters of less than 600 km. The remaining bodies range down to the size of a dust particle. The asteroid material is so thinly distributed that numerous unmanned spacecraft have traversed it without incident. Nonetheless, collisions between large asteroids do occur, and these can produce an asteroid family whose members have similar orbital characteristics and compositions. Individual asteroids within the asteroid belt are categorized by their spectra, with most falling into three basic groups: carbonaceous (C-type), silicate (S-type), and metal-rich (M-type).

    The asteroid belt formed from the primordial solar nebula as a group of planetesimals. Planetesimals are the smaller precursors of the protoplanets. Between Mars and Jupiter, however, gravitational perturbations from Jupiter imbued the protoplanets with too much orbital energy for them to accrete into a planet. Collisions became too violent, and instead of fusing together, the planetesimals and most of the protoplanets shattered. As a result, 99.9% of the asteroid belt's original mass was lost in the first 100 million years of the Solar System's history. Some fragments eventually found their way into the inner Solar System, leading to meteorite impacts with the inner planets. Asteroid orbits continue to be appreciably perturbed whenever their period of revolution about the Sun forms an orbital resonance with Jupiter. At these orbital distances, a Kirkwood gap occurs as they are swept into other orbits.

    The most prominent Kirkwood gaps:
  • 2.06 AU (4:1 resonance)
  • 2.5 AU (3:1 resonance)
  • 2.82 AU (5:2 resonance)
  • 2.95 AU (7:3 resonance)
  • 3.27 AU (2:1 resonance)
  • Kirkwood Gaps

    A gap or dip in the distribution of the semi-major axes (or equivalently of the orbital periods) of the orbits of main-belt asteroids. They correspond to the locations of orbital resonances with Jupiter. Most of the Kirkwood gaps are depleted, unlike the mean-motion resonances (MMR) of Neptune or Jupiter's 3:2 resonance, that retain objects captured during the giant planet migration. The loss of objects from the Kirkwood gaps is due to the overlapping of the V5 and V6 secular resonances within the MMR. The orbital elements of the asteroids vary chaotically as a result, and evolve onto planet-crossing orbits within a few million years. The 2:1 MMR has a few relatively stable islands within the resonance, however. These islands are depleted due to slow diffusion onto less stable orbits. This process, which has been linked to Jupiter and Saturn being near a 5:2 resonance, may have been more rapid when Jupiter's and Saturn's orbits were closer together. (con't)

    More recently, a relatively small number of asteroids have been found to possess high eccentricity orbits which do lie within the Kirkwood gaps. Examples include the Alinda and Griqua groups. These orbits slowly increase their eccentricity on a timescale of tens of millions of years, and will eventually break out of the resonance due to close encounters with a major planet.

  • inner main-belt (a < 2.5 AU)
  • intermediate main-belt (2.5 AU < a < 2.82 AU)
  • outer main-belt (a > 2.82 AU)

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    The Hungaria group is a dynamical group of asteroids in the asteroid belt. The asteroids orbit the Sun with a semi-major axis between 1.78 and 2.00 AU. They are the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System—the near-Earth asteroids are much more sparse—and derive their name from their largest member, 434 Hungaria. The Hungaria group includes the Hungaria family, a collisional asteroid family which dominates its population. Most Hungarias are E-type asteroids, which means they have extremely bright enstatite surfaces.

    The 4:1 resonance Kirkwood gap (at 2.06 AU) marks the outer boundary of the Hungaria family, while interactions with Mars determine the inner boundary. For comparison, the majority of asteroids are in the core region of the asteroid belt, which lies between the 4:1 gap (at 2.06 AU) and the 2:1 gap (at 3.27 AU).

    E-belt

    The Hungaria asteroids are thought to be the remains of the hypothetical E-belt asteroid population. The dispersal of most of that hypothetical E-belt might have been caused by the outwards migration of the giant planets of the Solar System, and these dispersed E-belt asteroids might in turn have been the impactors of the Late Heavy Bombardment.

    434 Hungaria

  • Type: E-type asteroid
  • Size: ~11 km
  • Rotation: 26.521 hours
  • Orbital period: 2.71 years at 1.944 (1.801 to 2.087) AU
  • Category: asteroid belt

    A relatively small asteroid orbiting in the inner asteroid belt inside of the 1:4 Kirkwood gap.


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    The Flora family is a prominent family of stony asteroids located in the inner region of the asteroid belt. It is one of the largest families, with more than 13,000 known members, or approximately 3.5% of all main-belt asteroids. The origin and properties of this family are relatively poorly understood. It is a very broad family which gradually fades into the surrounding background population.

    While the largest members, 8 Flora and 43 Ariadne, are located near the edge, there are several distinct groupings within the family, possibly created by later, secondary collisions. Due to this complex internal structure and the poorly defined boundaries, the Flora family has also been described as an asteroid clan. Only few interlopers have been identified. This family may be the source of the impactor that formed the Chicxulub crater, the likely culprit in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

    8 Flora

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 136 x 136 x 113 km
  • Rotation: 12.799 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.266 years at 2.202 (1.858 to 2.546) AU
  • the innermost large asteroid: no asteroid closer to the Sun has a diameter above 25 km (2/11 of Flora).
  • Category: main belt (Florian)
  • A large, bright main-belt asteroid. It is the seventh-brightest asteroid. Flora may be the residual core of an intensely heated, thermally evolved, and magmatically differentiated planetesimal which was subsequently disrupted. Flora is the parent body of the Flora family of asteroids, and by far the largest member, comprising about 80% of the total mass of this family. Nevertheless, Flora was almost certainly disrupted by the impact(s) that formed the family, and is probably a gravitational aggregate of most of the pieces.

    951 Gaspra

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 18.2 x 10.5 x 8.9 km
  • Rotation: 7.042 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.29 years at 2.209 (1.826 to 2.593) AU
  • Category: main belt (Florian)

    It orbits very close to the inner edge of the asteroid belt. Apart from a multitude of small craters, Gaspra has half a dozen large flat areas and concavities. It is uncertain whether these are the result of impacts, or whether they are instead facets formed when Gaspra broke off its parent asteroid. The flat facets and concavities give Gaspra a very angular appearance. Grooves about 100 m to 300 m wide, up to 2.5 km long, and tens of meters deep are seen on Gaspra's surface. Their presence suggest that it is a single coherent body, rather than a rubble pile. The grooves were likely created by impacts that shattered the underlying rock. The pitted appearance of some grooves may suggest that the surface is covered by a regolith.


  • 43 Ariadne

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 95 x 60 x 50 km
  • Rotation: -0.240 days
  • Orbital period: 3.27 years at 2.204 (1.834 to 2.573) AU
  • Category: main belt (Florian)

    A fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family. It is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and probably bi-lobed, or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator

  • Orbit:
    S/2017 (113) 1
  • Size: 5 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: unknown.
  • 113 Amalthea

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 46.14±1.4 km
  • Rotation: 9.950 days
  • Orbital period: 3.66 years at 2.375 (2.170 to 2.581) AU
  • Category: main belt (Florian)

    A stony binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. Amalthea has a distinctly elongated shape. It is thought to be a fragment from the mantle of a Vesta-sized (300–600 km diameter) parent body that broke up around one billion years ago, with the other major remnant being 9 Metis.


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    4 Vesta

  • Type: V-type asteroid
  • Size: 525.4±0.2 km
  • Rotation: 5.342 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.629 years at 2.361 (2.152 to 2.571) AU.
  • Category: main belt (Vestian)
  • rotation is relatively fast for an asteroid
  • the second-most-massive and probably the second-largest asteroid
  • Vesta contributes an estimated 9% of the mass of the asteroid belt. It is probably slightly larger than Pallas, but is about 25% more massive. Vesta is the only known remaining rocky protoplanet (with a differentiated interior) of the kind that formed the terrestrial planets.

    Vesta is the brightest asteroid visible from Earth. Its maximum distance from the Sun is slightly greater than the minimum distance of Ceres from the Sun, though its orbit lies entirely within that of Ceres.

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  • more than 15,000 known members.
  • semi-major axis of core group between 2.26 and 2.48 AU.
  • The Vesta family is a family of asteroids. The family is located in the inner asteroid belt, in the vicinity of its namesake and principal body, 4 Vesta. It is one of the largest asteroid families, and consists of mostly bright V-type asteroids; so-called "vestoids".

    The Vestian asteroids consist of 4 Vesta, and many small asteroids below 10 km diameter. The family originated from an impact on asteroid 4 Vesta, with the giant south-polar crater the likely impact site. The Vesta family also includes a few J-type asteroids (related to the V-type), which are thought to have come from the deeper layers of Vesta's crust.

    1929 Kollaa

  • Type: V-type asteroid
  • Size: 6.06 km
  • Rotation: 2.980 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.63 years at 2.362 (2.186 to 2.539) AU
  • Category: main belt (Vestian)

    A stony Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It is thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater—a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision.


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    Vesta family interlopers

  • orbits are similar to the Vesta family asteroids.
  • unrelated due to non-matching spectral type.

  • 442 Eichsfeldia

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 66.73±1.4 km
  • Rotation: 11.871 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.59 years at 2.345 (2.179 to 2.5112) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main belt asteroid that is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous material.

  • 306 Unitas

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 46.706±2.3 km
  • Rotation: 8.736 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.62 years at 2.357 (2.000 to 2.714) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A typical main belt asteroid.


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    7 Iris

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 268 x 234 x 180 km
  • Rotation: 7.138 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.68 years at 2.385 (1.834 to 2.937) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main-belt asteroid. It is the fourth-brightest object in the asteroid belt after Vesta, Ceres, and Pallas. Among the S-type asteroids, Iris ranks fifth in geometric mean diameter, after Eunomia, Juno, Amphitrite and Herculina.

  • 9 Metis

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 222 x 182 x 130 km
  • Rotation: 5.079 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.69 years at 2.387 (2.096 to 2.678) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the larger main-belt asteroids. It may be the core remnant of a large asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient collision. Metis is estimated to contain just under half a percent of the total mass of the asteroid belt. Metis has an irregular elongated shape, with one pointed and one broad end. Radar observations suggest the presence of a significant flat area. It has strong spectral similarities to 113 Amalthea. It is suggested that these asteroids may be remnants of a very old dynamical family, whose smaller members have been pulverised by collisions or perturbed away from the vicinity. The putative parent body is estimated to have been 300–600 km in diameter (Vesta-sized) and differentiated. Metis would be the relatively intact core remnant, and Amalthea a fragment of the mantle.


  • located between 2.25 and 2.5 AU
  • A collisional family of asteroids in the inner region of the asteroid belt. Phocaea asteroids are of stony S-type composition. Several Phocaean asteroids are also Mars-crossers.

    The Phocaea family region contains other collisional families such as the recently identified carbonaceous, Tamara family, named after its potentially largest member 326 Tamara. Several clumps around 290 Bruna (Bruna family), 1192 Prisma and 6246 Komurotoru, as well as (17628) 1996 FB5, (19536) 1999 JM4 and (26142) 1994 PL1 have also been detected.

    25 Phocaea

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 61.05±2.46 km
  • Rotation: 9.92 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.72 years at 2.400 (1.789 to 3.010) AU
  • Category: main belt (Phocaea)

    A stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. Phocaea is the parent body and namesake of the Phocaea family.


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    192 Nausikaa

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 103.26±1.9 km
  • Rotation: 13.625 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.72 years at 2.402 (1.812 to 2.993) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main-belt S-type asteroid. Nausikaa has a roughly cut, but not very elongated body.


  • Nysa family
    (Aka: Nysa–Polana complex, Hertha family)

  • orbits are between 2.41 and 2.5 AU.
  • It is located in the inner region of the asteroid belt, and is part of the Nysa–Polana complex; the largest cluster of asteroid families in the asteroid belt, with nearly 20,000 members.

    Asteroids in this complex are typically divided into the stony Nysa and carbonaceous Polana subgroups, two mineralogically different families.

    135 Hertha

  • Type: M-type asteroid
  • Size: 76.12±3.29 km
  • Rotation: 8.40 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.78 years at 2.427 (1.923 to 2.932) AU
  • Category: main belt (Nysa [Hertha])

    It orbits among the Nysa asteroid family, but its classification as an metallic M-type asteroid does not match the more common F-type asteroid for this family, suggesting that it may be an interloper. Although Hertha has long been classified as an M-type asteroid, observations indicate that the surface is hydrated, suggesting that Hertha should be reclassified as a W-type (a "wet M-type") asteroid. The surface may be heterogeneous, with some hydrated areas intermixed with dry areas.

  • 142 Polana

  • Type: F/B-type asteroid
  • Size: 55.29±1.6 km
  • Rotation: 9.76 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.76 years at 2.418 (2.093 to 2.744) AU
  • Category: main belt (Nysa [Polana])

    A very dark asteroid. It is a major member of the eponymously named Polana family. Polana is in a 1:2 orbital resonance with Mars. There is a peak in the number of asteroids located at 2.419 AU from the Sun. In spite of strong perturbations caused by the passing of both Jupiter and Mars, the 1:2 Mars resonance brings about stability for billions of years. There are up to 1,500 asteroids in this resonance.


  • 44 Nysa

  • Type: E-type asteroid
  • Size: 113±10 km
  • Rotation: 6.42 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.77 years at 2.423 (2.064 to 2.782) AU
  • Category: main belt (Nysa)

    A large and very bright main-belt asteroid. Its shape model is conical, which is interpreted as indicating the asteroid may actually be a contact binary.


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    6 Hebe

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 205 x 185 x 170 km
  • Rotation: 0.303 days
  • Orbital period: 3.78 years at 2.426 (1.937 to 2.914) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main-belt asteroid, containing around half a percent of the mass of the belt. Its apparent high bulk density suggests an extremely solid body that has not been impacted by collisions, which is not typical of asteroids of its size—they tend to be loosely-bound rubble piles. In brightness, Hebe is the fifth-brightest object in the asteroid belt after Vesta, Ceres, Iris, and Pallas. Lightcurve analysis suggests that Hebe has a rather angular shape, which may be due to several large impact craters.

  • 21 Lutetia

  • Type: M-type asteroid
  • Size: 121 x 101 x 75 km
  • Rotation: 8.1652 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.80 years at 2.435 (2.0364 to 2.834) AU
  • Category: main belt

    It has an irregular shape and is heavily cratered, with the largest impact crater reaching 45 km in diameter. The surface is geologically heterogeneous and is intersected by a system of grooves and scarps, which are thought to be fractures. It has a high average density, meaning that it is made of metal-rich rock. Observations revealed that the surface of Lutetia is covered with a regolith made of loosely aggregated dust particles. It is estimated to be 3 km thick, and may be responsible for the softened outlines of many of the larger craters. The composition of Lutetia suggests that it formed in the inner Solar System, among the terrestrial planets, and was ejected into the asteroid belt through an interaction with one of them.


  • 19 Fortuna

  • Type: G-type asteroid
  • Size: 225 x 205 x 195 km
  • Rotation: 7.44 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.81 years at 2.441 (2.052 to 2.831) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the largest main-belt asteroids. It has a composition similar to 1 Ceres: a darkly colored surface that is heavily space-weathered with the composition of primitive organic compounds. Its shape is nearly spherical.


  • have semi-major axes of about 2.5 AU.
  • A dynamical group of asteroids held in the 2.5 AU region by the 1:3 orbital resonance with Jupiter, which results in their being close to a 4:1 resonance with Earth. An object in this resonance has its orbital eccentricity steadily increased by gravitational interactions with Jupiter until it eventually has a close encounter with an inner planet that breaks the resonance.

    Some Alindas have perihelia very close to Earth's orbit, resulting in a series of close encounters at almost exactly four-year intervals, due to the 4:1 near resonance. One consequence is that some of these asteroids make repeated relatively close approaches to Earth.

    887 Alinda

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 2.1 km
  • Rotation: 73.97 hours
  • Orbital period: 3.90 years at 2.478 (1.073 to 3.884) AU
  • Category: main belt (Alinda), Amor, Near Earth Object

    A very eccentric, near-Earth asteroid with an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.092 AU. It is a typical Amor III asteroid. Alinda has both a 1:3 orbital resonance with Jupiter, and a close to 4:1 resonance with Earth.

  • 1607 Mavis

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 11.57±1.76 km
  • Rotation: 6.13 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.07 years at 2.549 (1.772 to 3.326) AU
  • Category: main belt (Alinda)

    A stony asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt.


  • 4179 Toutatis

  • Type: Sk-type asteroid
  • Size: 4.75 x 2.4 x 1.95 km
  • Rotation: 176 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.03 years at 2.532 (0.939 to 4.124) AU
  • Category: main belt (Alinda), Apollo

    An elongated, stony asteroid and slow rotator, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid. It's also a Mars-crosser asteroid with a chaotic orbit produced by a 3:1 resonance with the planet Jupiter, a 1:4 resonance with the planet Earth, and frequent close approaches to the terrestrial planets, including Earth. In December 2012, Toutatis passed within about 18 lunar distances of Earth. Toutatis is a highly irregular body consisting of two distinct lobes, with maximum widths of about 4.6 km and 2.4 km, respectively. It is hypothesized that Toutatis formed from two originally separate bodies which coalesced at some point, with the resultant asteroid being compared to a rubble pile. As a planet-crossing asteroid, Toutatis is likely to be ejected from the inner Solar System within a time scale of a few million years or less, giving it a limited number of opportunities to hit Earth.


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    Maria family
    (AKA: Roma Family)

  • have semi-major axes between 2.52–2.62 AU.
  • A collisional asteroid family located in the inner parts of the intermediate asteroid belt, near the 1:3 Kirkwood gap. The family consist of several thousand stony S-type asteroids. The family consists of 2,940 known members.

    170 Maria

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 44.13±1.0 km
  • Rotation: 13.12 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.08 years at 2.554 (2.392 to 2.716) AU
  • Category: main belt (Maria)

    This is the namesake of the Maria asteroid family. It is classified as an S-type asteroid.

  • 472 Roma

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 47.27±3.4 km
  • Rotation: 9.80 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.06 years at 2.543 (2.304 to 2.782) AU
  • Category: main belt (Maria)

    It is a member of the dynamic Maria family of asteroids that were probably formed as the result of a collisional breakup of a parent body.


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  • one of the largest S-type asteroids in diameter, and probably third largest after Eunomia and Juno.
  • 29 Amphitrite

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 233 x 212 x 193 km
  • Rotation: 5.39 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.09 years at 2.555 (2.371 to 2.740) AU
  • Category: main belt

    Amphirite's orbit is less eccentric and inclined than those of its larger cousins—it is the most circular of any asteroid discovered up to that point. A satellite of the asteroid is suspected to exist.

  • Astraea family:
  • Astraea family is a large MBA-family, with a total of 6,169 members.
  • 5 Astraea

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 167 x 123 x 82 km
  • Rotation: 16.80 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.13 years at 2.573 (2.081 to 3.065) AU
  • Category: main belt (Astraea)

    Astraea is physically unremarkable but notable mainly because for 38 years (after the discovery of Vesta in 1807) it had been thought that there were only four asteroids. After the discovery of Astraea, thousands of other asteroids would follow.


  • 13 Egeria

  • Type: G-type asteroid
  • Size: 214.8 x 192 km
  • Rotation: 7.04 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.14 years at 2.576 (2.361 to 2.792) AU
  • Category: main belt

    Its disc is quite circular. Spectral analysis of Egeria shows it to be unusually high in water content, 10.5&ndashl11.5% water by mass, making it a prominent candidate for future water-mining ventures.


  • have semi-major axes between 2.53–2.72 AU.
  • located between the 3:1 and 8:3 resonances with Jupiter, at relatively high inclinations.
  • The Eunomia or Eunomian family is a large asteroid family of S-type asteroids. It is the most prominent family in the intermediate asteroid belt, and the 6th-largest family with nearly six thousand known members, or approximately 1.4% of all asteroids in the asteroid belt.

    The family contains relatively large numbers of small objects. Since most of these smaller objects are "eroded" away over time due to secondary collisions, gravitational perturbations, and the Yarkovsky effect, this indicates that the Eunomia family was created relatively recently (on an astronomical timescale).

    258 Tyche

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 64.78±1.2 km
  • Rotation: 10.04 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.23 years at 2.617 (2.083 to 3.151) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eunomia)

    A relatively large main belt asteroid. As it is larger than all the Eunomia family members apart from 15 Eunomia, while lying at the very edge of the family group, there is a good chance that it is an unrelated interloper.

  • the largest of the stony (S-type) asteroids.
  • 15 Eunomia

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 357 x 255 x 212 km
  • Rotation: -6.08 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.30 years at 2.643 (2.149 to 3.138) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eunomia)

    A very large asteroid in the inner asteroid belt. It is somewhere between the 8th- and 12th-largest main-belt asteroid overall. It is the largest Eunomian asteroid, and is estimated to contain 1% of the mass of the asteroid belt. Eunomia appears to be an elongated but fairly regularly shaped body, with what appear to be four sides of differing curvature and noticeably different average compositions. Its composition indicates that the parent body was likely subject to magmatic processes, and became at least partially differentiated under the influence of internal heating in the early period of the Solar System. The orbit of 15 Eunomia places it in a 7:16 mean-motion resonance with the planet Mars.


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    The interlopers share the same orbital elements as the true Eunomia family members, but can not have come from the same breakup because of spectral (hence, compositional) differences.

    85 Io

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 180 x 160 x 160 km
  • Rotation: -6.87 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.32 years at 2.652 (2.137 to 3.167) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eunomia interloper)

    From the central region of the asteroid belt. Its shape is quite regular.

  • 141 Lumen

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 131.03±2.9 km
  • Rotation: 19.87 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.35 years at 2.664 (2.092 to 3.237) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eunomia interloper)

    From the intermediate asteroid belt.


  • 546 Herodias

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 66.02±3.8 km
  • Rotation: 10.4 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.19 years at 2.597 (2.295 to 2.898) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eunomia interloper)

    From the central regions of the asteroid belt.


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    70 Panopaea

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 122.17±2.3 km
  • Rotation: 15.87 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.23 years at 2.615 (2.140 to 3.090) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main belt asteroid. Its orbit is close to those of the Eunomia asteroid family.

  • 253 Mathilde

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 52.8 km
  • Rotation: 17.40 days
  • Orbital period: 4.31 years at 2.648 (1.946 to 3.350) AU
  • Category: main belt

    An asteroid in the intermediate asteroid belt. This tumbling asteroid has an unusually slow rate of rotation. The asteroid has a number of extremely large craters; the two largest craters—Ishikari (29.3 km) and Karoo (33.4 km)—are as wide as the asteroid's average radius. The impacts appear to have spalled large volumes off the asteroid, as suggested by the angular edges of the craters. Up to 50% of the interior volume of Mathilde consists of open space. However, the existence of a 20-km-long scarp may indicate that the asteroid does have some structural strength, so it could contain some large internal components.


  • 3 Juno

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 320 x 267 x 200±6 km
  • Rotation: 7.21 days
  • Orbital period: 4.36 years at 2.670 (1.988 to 3.352) AU.
  • Category: main belt (Juno clump)
  • the 11th-largest asteroid.
  • one of the two largest stony (S-type) asteroids, along with 15 Eunomia.
  • estimated to contain 1% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
  • It was the third asteroid found, but was initially considered to be a planet; it was reclassified as an asteroid and minor planet during the 1850s. Juno's small size and irregular shape preclude it from being designated a dwarf planet.

    Juno is one of the larger asteroids, and is the second-most-massive S-type asteroid after 15 Eunomia. Even so, Juno has only 3% the mass of Ceres. Amongst S-type asteroids, Juno is unusually reflective, which may be indicative of distinct surface properties.

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  • have semi-major axes between 2.64–2.68 AU.
  • The bodies in the clump are all small. (32326) 2000 QO62—the brightest of those clearly in the visible clump—would have a diameter of about 6 km, given the same albedo as 3 Juno. This indicates that it is probably a so-called cratering family composed of ejecta from impacts on 3 Juno.

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  • the 14th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt.
  • 324 Bamberga

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 229.44±7.4 km
  • Rotation: 29.43 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.39 years at 2.682 (1.770 to 3.594) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt. Its 29-hour rotation period is unusually long for an asteroid more than 150 km in diameter. Its spectral class is intermediate between the C-type and P-type asteroids.

  • the second-largest of the E-type asteroids, after 44 Nysa.
  • 55 Pandora

  • Type: E-type asteroid
  • Size: 66.7 km
  • Rotation: 4.80 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.58 years at 2.7602 (2.367 to 3.152) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A fairly large and very bright asteroid in the asteroid belt.


  • Orbit:
    S/2004 (45) 1
  • Size: est. 6 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 4.7 days at 700 km.

  • Petit-Prince
  • Size: est. 13 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 4.76 days at 1,184±12 km.
  • 45 Eugenia

  • Type: F-type asteroid
  • Size: 232 x 193 x 161 km
  • Rotation: -5.69 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.49 years at 2.720 (2.497 to 2.943) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large asteroid of the asteroid belt, famed as one of the first asteroids to be found to have a moon orbiting it. It is also the second known triple asteroid, after 87 Sylvia. Its density appears to be unusually low, indicating that it may be a loosely packed rubble pile, not a monolithic object.

  • Orbit:
    Peneius
  • Size: <2 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 1.1 days at 443 km.
  • 41 Daphne

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 174.0±11.2 km
  • Rotation: 5.9 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.60 years at 2.765 (2.014 to 3.517) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large asteroid from the asteroid belt. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration. Its orbit places it in a 9:22 mean motion resonance with the planet Mars.


  • 2 Pallas

  • Type: B-type asteroid
  • Size: 550 x 516 x 476 km
  • Rotation: 7.81 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.62 years at 2.772 (2.133 to 3.411) AU.
  • Category: main belt (Pallas)
  • one of the largest asteroids in the Solar System.
  • has an estimated 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt.
  • the third-most-massive asteroid, being 10–30% less massive than Vesta.
  • Its shape departs from that of an ellipsoid. Pallas is thought to have undergone at least some degree of thermal alteration and partial differentiation, suggesting that it is a remnant protoplanet.

    Pallas's orbit is unusually highly inclined, and its orbital eccentricity is nearly as large as that of Pluto. It is in a near-1:1 orbital resonance with Ceres. Pallas also has a near-18:7 resonance and an approximate 5:2 resonance with Jupiter. Furthermore, Pallas has a very high axial tilt. This means that every Palladian summer and winter, large parts of the surface are in constant sunlight or constant darkness for about an Earth year, with areas near the poles experiencing continuous sunlight for as long as two years.

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  • have semi-major axes between 2.50–2.82 AU and inclinations of 33–38°
  • more than 10 members have been identified.
  • A small asteroid family of B-type asteroids at very high inclinations in the intermediate asteroid belt. The remaining bodies are far smaller than Pallas. This, along with the preponderance of the otherwise rare B spectral type among its members, indicates that this is likely a cratering family composed of ejecta from impacts on Pallas.
  • the largest of the Palladian asteroids apart from Pallas itself.
  • 5222 Ioffe

  • Type: B-type asteroid
  • Size: 17.98±0.09 km
  • Rotation: 19.4 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.62 years at 2.775 (2.378 to 3.172) AU
  • Category: main belt (Pallas)

    A rare-type carbonaceous Palladian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt.


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    532 Herculina

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 111.19±2.1 km
  • Rotation: 9.40 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.62 years at 2.773 (2.286 to 3.260) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the larger members of the main asteroid belt. It is believed to rank among the top 20 in size. The current estimate for its mass would rank it close to the top 10. Herculina is not spherical, but a blocky shape not unlike a battered cuboid.

  • the largest member of the Nemesian asteroid family bearing its name.
  • 128 Nemesis

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 162.51±1.29 km
  • Rotation: 77.81 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.56 years at 2.749 (2.399 to 3.099) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large main-belt asteroid. It rotates rather slowly.


  • Gefion family
    AKA: Ceres family, Minerva family

  • have semi-major axes between 2.74 and 2.82 AU.
  • more than 2,500 known members.
  • An S-type asteroid family located the in intermediate asteroid belt. It had previously been known as the Ceres family. It is still known as Minerva family, named after then thought parent body 93 Minerva, until it was identified to be an interloper into its own family.

    1272 Gefion

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 6.96±0.16 km
  • Rotation: 2.90 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.65 years at 2.784 (2.360 to 3.207) AU
  • Category: main belt (Gefion)

    A stony asteroid and parent body of the Gefion family from the central region of the asteroid belt.

  • 2631 Zhejiang

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 10.76 km
  • Rotation: under investigation
  • Orbital period: 4.68 years at 2.796 (2.344 to 3.249) AU
  • Category: main belt (Gefion)


  • 2911 Miahelena

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 12.21 km
  • Rotation: 4.20 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.65 years at 2.791 (2.517 to 3.065) AU
  • Category: main belt (Gefion)


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    Gefion (Ceres, Minerva) family interlopers


    Orbit:
    Gorgoneion
  • Size: 3 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: unknown at 380 km.

  • Aegis
  • Size: 4 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: unknown at 630 km.
  • 93 Minerva

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 141.55±4.0 km
  • Rotation: 5.98 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.58 years at 2.757 (2.371 to 3.142) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A large trinary main-belt asteroid. Identified as an interloper into its own family.

  • 255 Oppavia

  • Type: P-type asteroid
  • Size: 57.40±1.5 km
  • Rotation: 19.49 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.55 years at 2.746 (2.533 to 2.958) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A sizeable Main belt asteroid. Oppavia was long thought to be a member of the now defunct Ceres asteroid family, but was found to be an unrelated interloper on the basis of its non-matching spectral type.


  • 374 Burgundia

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 44.67±1.3 km
  • Rotation: 6.97 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.64 years at 2.781 (2.556 to 3.005) AU
  • Category: main belt

    Burgundia was long thought to be a member of the now defunct Ceres asteroid family, but it was found to be an unrelated interloper in that group based on its non-matching composition.


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    Ceres

  • Type: rocky dwarf planet
  • Size: 964.4 x 964.2 x 891.8 km
  • Rotation: 9.07 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.61 years at 2.769 (2.558 to 2.979) AU.
  • Atmosphere: minimal (exoatmosphere)
  • Water: frozen
    Orbit:
  • no natural satellites
  • both the largest of the asteroids, and the only unambiguous dwarf planet inside Neptune's orbit.
  • the 25th-largest body in the Solar System within Neptune's orbit.
  • The largest object in the main asteroid belt. Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt known to be currently rounded by its own gravity.

    Ceres appears to be partially differentiated into a muddy (ice-rock) mantle, with a crust that is 60% rock and 40% ice or less than 30% ice.] It probably no longer has an internal ocean of liquid water, but there is brine that can flow through the outer mantle and reach the surface. The surface is a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals such as carbonates and clay.

    Emissions of water vapor were detected from several regions of Ceres. Any atmosphere, however, would be the minimal kind known as an exosphere.

    Ceres is in a near-1:1 mean-motion orbital resonance with Pallas. However, a true resonance between the two would be unlikely; due to their small masses relative to their large separations. Ceres is able to capture other asteroids into temporary 1:1 resonant orbital relationships (making them temporary trojans) for periods up to 2 million years or more; fifty such objects have been identified.

    Although not as actively discussed as a potential home for microbial extraterrestrial life as Mars, Europa, Enceladus, or Titan, there is evidence that Ceres' icy mantle was once a watery subterranean ocean . The remote detection of organic compounds and the presence of water with 20% carbon by mass in its near surface, could provide conditions favorable to organic chemistry.

    Civilian Gov.:
  • Pop.: under investigation
  • Local Gov.: under investigation
  • Main Leader(s): under investigation

    Military:
  • Starport: under investigation
  • Top military leader: under investigation
  • Ship deployed in emergencies: under investigation
  • Settlements:
  • (Capital) under investigation
  • (2nd largest) under investigation
  • (3rd largest) under investigation

    Rural Settlements
  • Towns: under investigation
  • Villages: under investigation
  • Orbit:
  • Starbase: under investigation
  • Ceres Base - Stationary West Point Macro-Training Ship [VF-X2 Mission 9]. - The command center of the Factory Satellites in the asteroid belt tasked with building the ships for Emigrant Fleets; such as the Environment Ships, and military escort ships.


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  • the 13th largest main-belt asteroid.
  • 88 Thisbe

  • Type: B-type asteroid
  • Size: 255 x 232 x 193 km
  • Rotation: 6.04 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.60 years at 2.768 (2.312 to 3.224) AU
  • Category: main belt
  • An occultation of a star indicated a larger than expected diameter of 232 km. Thisbe has been perturbed by asteroid 7 Iris. But Iris is strongly perturbed by many minor planets such as 10 Hygiea and 15 Eunomia.


  • have semi-major axes centered on 2.867 AU.
  • It has 5,949 members.
  • The Koronis or Koronian family—also known as the Lacrimosa family—is a very large asteroid family of stony asteroids, located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. They are thought to have been formed at least two billion years ago in a catastrophic collision between two larger bodies. The Koronis family travels in a cluster along the same orbit.

    This family has two subfamilies. The Karin family was formed remarkably recently in a catastrophic collision (destroying the parent body). The Koronis family, with 246 members, is the other. It formed in non-catastrophic collision with 158 Koronis.

    208 Lacrimosa

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 44.33±1.7 km
  • Rotation: 14.08 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.92 years at 2.893 (2.855 to 2.930) AU
  • Category: main belt (Koronis family)

    A main-belt asteroid, and one of the largest members of the Koronis asteroid family. Hence it is probably a piece of the original asteroid that was shattered in an ancient impact that created the family.

  • The Koronis family is named after this asteroid.
  • 158 Koronis

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 35.37±1.4 km
  • Rotation: 14.21 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.86 years at 2.868 (2.719 to 3.018) AU
  • Category: main belt (Koronis family)

    A collision involving 158 Koronis 15 million years ago created a cluster of 246 objects. 158 Koronis itself retained 98.7% of the total mass. These new objects formed the Koronis(2) family. Koronis(2) is a subfamily of the much larger Koronis family.


  • 167 Urda

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 39.94±1.9 km
  • Rotation: 13.07 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.82 years at 2.853 (2.749 to 2.958) AU
  • Category: main belt (Koronis family)

    This S-type asteroid is a member of the Koronis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.

  • Orbit:
    (243) Ida I Dactyl
  • Size: 1.6 x 1.4 x 1.2 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: about 20 hours at 90 km.
  • 243 Ida

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 59.8 x 25.4 x 18.6 km
  • Rotation: 4.63 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.83 years at 2.861 (2.743 to 2.979) AU
  • Category: main belt (Koronis family)

    Ida is irregularly shaped and elongated, apparently composed of two large objects connected together. Ida originated in the breakup of the Koronis parent body. The progenitor asteroid had partially differentiated, with heavier metals migrating to the core. Ida carried away insignificant amounts of this core material. Dactyl is an "egg-shaped" but "remarkably spherical" object. It is oriented with its longest axis pointing towards Ida. Dactyl shares many characteristics with Ida. Its small size would make the formation of significant amounts of regolith impossible. This contrasts with Ida, which is covered by a deep layer of regolith.


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  • one of the ten most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt.
  • 16 Psyche

  • Type: M-type asteroid
  • Size: 279 x 232 x 186 km
  • Rotation: 4.19 hours
  • Orbital period: 4.99 years at 2.921 (2.513 to 3.328) AU
  • Category: main belt

    Psyche contains a little less than 1% of the mass of the entire asteroid belt. It is thought to be the exposed iron core of a protoplanet, and is the most massive metallic M-type asteroid. Psyche is massive enough that its gravitational perturbations on other asteroids can be observed, which enables a mass measurement. Light curve analysis indicates Psyche appears somewhat irregular in shape.


  • have semi-major axes between 2.99 and 3.03 AU.
  • currently about 4,400 family members are known
  • A very large asteroid family located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. The family of K-type asteroids is believed to have formed as a result of an ancient catastrophic collision. The family's parent body is the asteroid 221 Eos. Prior to the breakup, the parent body was partly segregated with denser materials moving toward the core. Since the breakup, the family members have undergone space weathering.

    The inner orbit of the family is bracketed by the 7/3 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter at 2.96 AU. The orbital range also includes the 9/4 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter at 3.03 AU. Most of the family members lie within the latter orbital distance.

    The rotation rates of the Eos family asteroids are randomly distributed. This randomization resulted from subsequent collisions with other bodies, implying that the asteroids retain some "memory" of the rotation rate of the parent body. Evolutionary models of this spread in the rotation rate of the Eos family implies that this group may be comparable to the age of the Solar System.

    Not all fragments of the original parent body have remained in the orbital zone occupied by the Eos family. Spectroscopic analysis has shown that some of these asteroids are now located in the 9:4 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter. These fugitives appear relatively young compared to the other family members.

  • The Eos family is named after this asteroid.
  • 221 Eos

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 103.87±3.6 km
  • Rotation: 10.44 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.22 years at 3.010 (2.695 to 3.324) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A large main-belt asteroid.

  • 339 Dorothea

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 38.25±1.6 km
  • Rotation: 5.97 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.23 years at 3.011 (2.719 to 3.304) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A large main belt asteroid.


  • 450 Brigitta

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 33.32±1.3 km
  • Rotation: 10.75 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.24 years at 3.017 (2.720 to 3.313) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A typical Main belt asteroid.

  • 639 Latona

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 35.62±0.85 km
  • Rotation: 6.19 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.24 years at 3.016 (2.696 to 3.336) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A member of the dynamic Eos family of asteroids that most likely formed as the result of a collisional breakup of a parent body.


  • 651 Antikleia

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 33.04±2.2 km
  • Rotation: 20.29 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.26 years at 3.025 (2.731 to 3.318) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A main-belt asteroid.

  • 653 Berenike

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 39.22±2.4 km
  • Rotation: 12.48 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.24 years at 3.016 (2.896 to 3.136) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A main-belt asteroid.


  • 669 Kypria

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 15.87±0.65 km
  • Rotation: 14.28 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.23 years at 3.014 (2.780 to 3.245) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A minor planet orbiting the Sun.

  • 807 Ceraskia

  • Type: K-type asteroid
  • Size: 13.12±0.65 km
  • Rotation: 7.4 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.24 years at 3.017 (2.817 to 3.216) AU
  • Category: main belt (Eos)

    A minor planet orbiting the Sun.


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    423 Diotima

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 208.8±4.9 km
  • Rotation: 4.77 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.37 years at 3.067 (2.950 to 3.185) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the larger main-belt asteroids.

  • 451 Patientia

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: 224.96±4.4 km
  • Rotation: 9.72 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.36 years at 3.061 (2.830 to 3.292) AU
  • Category: main belt

    The 15th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt.


  • probably the fifth-most-massive asteroid.
  • 704 Interamnia

  • Type: F-type asteroid
  • Size: 350.3 x 303.6 km
  • Rotation: 8.72 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.35 years at 3.057 (2.585 to 3.529) AU
  • Category: main belt
  • Although Interamnia is the largest asteroid after the "big four" (after Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea), it is a very little-studied body. It is easily the largest of the F-type asteroids. Its apparently high bulk density suggests an extremely solid body entirely without internal porosity or traces of water. This also strongly suggests that Interamnia is large enough to have fully withstood all the collisions that have occurred in the asteroid belt since the Solar System was formed. One 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.

    Doris

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 278 x 142 km
  • Rotation: 11.89 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.49 years at 3.110 (2.877 to 3.343) AU
  • Category: main belt

    One of the largest main belt asteroids. Doris is an extremely irregularly shaped object.


  • has the longest rotation period of an asteroid more than 150 km in diameter.
  • 120 Lachesis

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 174.10±2.9 km
  • Rotation: 1.936 days
  • Orbital period: 5.50 years at 3.117 (2.953 to 3.281) AU
  • Category: main belt
  • A large main-belt asteroid.

  • parent body of the Ursula family.
  • 375 Ursula

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 216.10 km
  • Rotation: 16.78 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.52 years at 3.123 (2.792 to 3.454) AU
  • Category: main belt (Ursula)

    A dark asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It is one of the largest asteroids.


  • 10 Hygiea

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 450±10 x 430±10 x 424±20 km
  • Rotation: 13.82 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.57 years at 3.141 (2.788 to 3.494) AU
  • Atmosphere: none
  • Water: frozen
  • Category: main belt (Hygiea)
    Orbit:
  • no natural satellites
  • the fourth-largest asteroid, by both volume and mass.
  • estimated to be 2.9% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
  • dwarf planet candidate.

  • small Unified Forces presence.
  • settlements are mostly subsurface.
  • Hygiea has a nearly spherical shape.

    Aside from being the smallest of the "big four", Hygiea—like Ceres—has a relatively low density, which is more comparable to the icy satellites of Jupiter or Saturn, than to the terrestrial planets or the stony asteroids. Aqueous alteration products have been detected on its surface, which could indicate the presence of water ice in the past which was heated sufficiently to melt.

    Hygiea is the main member of the Hygiean asteroid family that constitutes about 1% of asteroids in the main belt. Because the impact craters on Hygiea today are too small to contain the volume of ejected material, it is thought that Hygiea was completely disrupted by the impact, and that the majority of the debris recoalesced after the pieces that formed the rest of the family had escaped. Hygiea contains almost all the mass (over 98%) of the family.


    10 Hygiea is a major Unified government position and comparatively large Unified Forces base in the outer main belt. It is self-sufficient (food and manufacturing), and is the center of the outer main belt mining and manufacturing complex.

    finish writing this description (1 Factory Satellite in orbit, and in charge of mining and manufacturing in this part of the belt.)

    Civilian Gov.:
  • Pop.: tens of thousands
  • Local Gov.: Unified Government
  • Main Leader(s): under investigation
  • Top military leader: under investigation
  • Military:
  • Starport: large, fully equipped ediiting here
  • Ship deployed in emergencies: under investigation
  • Orbit:
  • Starbase: Factory Satellite
  • 1x Arugenikusu Space Cruiser
  • 3x Northampton class Stealth Frigates
  • Settlements:
  • name (Capital), less than 500 residents
  • name (2nd largest), less than 300 residents
  • name (3rd largest), less than 300 residents

  • Rural Settlements:
  • Towns & Villages: approx. 700 residents spread evenly, with populations that rarely exceed 75 residents.

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  • have semi-major axes between 3.06 and 3.24 AU.
  • currently about 1,043 family members are known (about 1% of all asteroids in the asteroid belt).
  • The Hygiea—or Hygiean—family of asteroids is a grouping of dark, carbonaceous C-type and B-type asteroids in outer asteroid belt, the largest member of which is 10 Hygiea. About 1% of all known asteroids in the asteroid belt belong to this family.

    The members are much smaller than 10 Hygiea, so Hygiea contains about 94–98% of the mass in the family. Aside from the 3 largest, the members have diameters of less than 30 km.

    The Hygiea family is thought to be of the cratering type, implying that it was formed as a result of a giant impact that excavated the much smaller family members from Hygiea. The family contains a significant number of objects of the otherwise rare B spectral type. There are some indications that this family is relatively quite old.

    333 Badenia

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 78.17±1.9 km
  • Rotation: 8.19 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.55 years at 3.134 (2.631 to 3.636) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hygiea)

    A large asteroid in the outer asteroid belt.

  • 538 Friederike

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 36.24±1.15 km
  • Rotation: 1.94 days
  • Orbital period: 5.61 years at 3.158 (2.623 to 3.692) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hygiea)

    A minor planet orbiting the Sun.


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    Hygiea family Interlopers


    52 Europa

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 379 x 330 x 249 km
  • Rotation: 0.234 days
  • Orbital period: 5.46 years at 3.101 (2.785 to 3.417) AU
  • the 6th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt.

  • small settlement like the one on 10 Hygiea.
  • Category: main belt
  • The second largest C-type asteroid. 52 Europa is not round, but is shaped like an ellipsoid. It is named after Europa, one of Zeus's conquests in Greek mythology, a name it shares with Jupiter's moon Europa. It orbits close to the Hygiea asteroid family, but is not a member.

    1109 Tata

  • Type: F/C-type asteroid
  • Size: 61.87±0.265 km
  • Rotation: 8.27 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.80 years at 3.226 (2.908 to 3.544) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A dark asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It's lightcurve is indicative for a spherical shape.

  • 1209 Pumma

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 21.73±2.15 km
  • Rotation: 8.50 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.65 years at 3.171 (2.759 to 3.583) AU
  • Category: main belt

    An asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt.


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  • have semi-major axes between 3.08 AU and 3.24 AU.
  • over 4,700 known members.
  • A family of carbonaceous asteroids located in the outer portion of the asteroid belt. It is one of the largest families with, and consists of a well-defined core of larger bodies surrounded by a region of smaller ones.

    24 Themis

  • Type: C/B-type asteroid
  • Size: 198±20 km
  • Rotation: 8 hours 23 min
  • Orbital period: 5.54 years at 3.129 (2.719 to 3.539) AU
  • namesake of the Themis family of asteroids.

  • small settlement like the one on 511 Davida.
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    One of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt, and located in the outer part of the main belt. Themis is a super cool asteroid. The surface of the asteroid appears completely covered in ice. As this ice layer is sublimated, it may be getting replenished by a reservoir of ice under the surface. Because of its proximity to the sun, the widespread ice on the surface of 24 Themis is somewhat unexpected.

  • S/2000 (90) 1
  • Size: 89.4 x 82.8 x 79.6 km
  • Rotation: 16.50 hours
  • Orbital period: 16.50 hours at 171 km.
  • 90 Antiope

  • Type: Ctype asteroid
  • Size: 93.0 x 87.0 x 83.6 km
  • Rotation: 16.50 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.60 years at 3.155 (2.660 to 3.649) AU
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    A double asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. It was found to consist of two almost-equally-sized bodies (the difference in mass is less than 2.5%) orbiting each other. The two bodies orbit around the common center of mass which lies in the space between them. At average diameters of about 88 km and 84 km, both components are among the 500 largest asteroids. The low density of its components suggests a significant porosity, indicating rubble-pile asteroids composed of debris that accumulated in the aftermath of a previous asteroid collision


  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 104 Klymene

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 123.68±3.1 km
  • Rotation: 8.98 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.60 years at 3.152 (2.655 to 3.649) AU
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    A large, dark asteroid. It may have a bi-lobed shape with a length of 163±3 km and width of 103±5 km, for an average dimension of 133 km. This asteroid is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.

  • 62 Erato

  • Type: C/B-type asteroid
  • Size: 95.4 km
  • Rotation: 6.675 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.52 years at 3.122 (2.566 to 3.679) AU
  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    It has also been classified as an Eoan (Eos family) asteroid.


  • 468 Lina

  • Type: C/B-type asteroid
  • Size: 58.60±14.75 km
  • Rotation: 16.23 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.54 years at 3.132 (2.513 to 3.750) AU
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    A dark Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt.

  • 846 Lipperta

  • Type: C/B-type asteroid
  • Size: 26.20±0.7 km
  • Rotation: 688.4 days
  • Orbital period: 5.53 years at 3.126 (2.556 to 3.696) AU
  • Category: main belt (Themis)

    It's rotation period may be wrong by 30% or so.


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    511 Davida

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 357 x 294 x 231 ±42 km
  • Rotation: 2.13 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.63 years at 3.164 (2.573 to 3.756) AU
  • Atmosphere: under investigation
  • Water: under investigation
  • Category: main belt
    Orbit:
  • no natural satellites
  • small Unified Forces presence.
  • settlements are mostly subsurface.
  • One of the ten most-massive asteroids, and the 7th-largest asteroid. Davida comprises an estimated 1.5% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.

    There are at least two promontories and at least one flat facet. The facet is presumably a 150-km global-scale crater.


    The Unified Government presence is limited to a listening post/inner solar system observation facilities, and a handful of small mining settlements. The Unified Government facilities are centred on Batel—also the location of the "main" starport—and Nissa. The mining and refining industries are centred on Nissa and Alona. All three cities are surrounded by a handful of satellite settlements—all centred on mining. Efforts have been made to slow down the rotation rate (the figure on the left is the real world value).

    While the Unified Forces personnel assigned to Sylvia find it extremely remote and boring, the civilian miners love the quiet and laid-back atmosphere that comes from being so far off the beaten track. The settlements are not self-sufficient, and rely on a steady flow of water, food, and other resources from the outside.

    Civilian Gov.:
  • Pop.: hundreds
  • Local Gov.: Unified Government
  • Main Leader(s): under investigation
  • Top military leader: under investigation
  • Military:
  • Starport: small, basic
  • Ship deployed in emergencies: Tali
  • Orbit:
  • Starbase: small ARMD-type platform
  • 1x Arugenikusu Space Cruiser "Tali"
  • 3x Northampton class Stealth Frigates
  • Settlements:
  • Batel (Capital), less than 500 residents
  • Nissa (2nd largest), less than 300 residents
  • Alona (3rd largest), less than 100 residents
  • Towns & Villages: approx. 600 residents spread evenly, with populations that rarely exceed 75 residents.

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    31 Euphrosyne

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 267.08±2.6 km
  • Rotation: 5.53 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.61 years at 3.155 (2.458 to 3.852) AU
  • 31 Euphrosyne 1
  • Size: approx. 6 km
  • Rotation: 16.50 hours
  • Orbital period: 1.2 days at 677 km.
  • Category: main belt
  • Pperhaps the 12th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, and possibly one of the half-dozen or so most massive. Euphrosyne is the namesake of a complex family of 2,000 asteroids. They are thought to have arisen from a collision.

  • minor settlement like the one on 511 Davida.
  • In 2019 a small satellite was discovered, likely resulting from the same collisional event that created the family.

    94 Aurora

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 204.89±3.6 km
  • Rotation: 7.22 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.62 years at 3.160 (2.868 to 3.451) AU
  • minor settlement like the one on 511 Davida.
  • Category: main belt

    One of the largest main-belt asteroids. It is darker than soot, and has a primitive composition consisting of carbonaceous material.

  • 372 Palma

  • Type: B-type asteroid
  • Size: 188.62±3.2 km
  • Rotation: 8.56 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.59 years at 3.151 (2.333 to 3.969) AU
  • minor settlement like the one on 511 Davida.
  • Category: main belt

    One of the largest main-belt asteroids.


  • Hecuba group

  • orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.

  • namesake of the Hecuba group of asteroids.

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 108 Hecuba

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 64.97±4.4 km
  • Rotation: 14.25 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.83 years at 3.239 (3.059 to 3.419) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hecuba)

    A fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid. It became the first asteroid discovered to orbit near a 2:1 mean-motion resonance with the planet Jupiter.

  • a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids.

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 100 Hekate

  • Type: S-type asteroid
  • Size: 88.66±2.0 km
  • Rotation: 27.06 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.43 years at 3.089 (2.569 to 3.610) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hecuba)

    A large main-belt asteroid. It orbits in the same region of space as the Hygiea asteroid family, though it is actually an unrelated interloper.


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    A Hecuba-gap asteroid is a member of a dynamical group of resonant asteroids located in the Hecuba gap at 3.27 AU—one of the largest Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt—which is considered the borderline separating the outer main belt asteroids from the Cybeles.
    A Hecuba-gap asteroid stays in a 2:1 mean motion resonance with the gas giant Jupiter, which may gradually perturb its orbit over a long period, until it either intersect with the orbit of Mars or Jupiter itself.

    Depending on the dynamical stability of an asteroid's orbit in the Hecuba gap, three subgroups have been proposed. These are the marginally unstable Griqua asteroids, the stable Zhongguo asteroids, and an unnamed, strongly unstable population of asteroids.


    The Unified Government presence is limited to routine patrols and random training missions.
    Griqua asteroids
    The Griqua asteroids (also known as the "Griquas") are a dynamical group of asteroids with marginally unstable orbits. The Griquas are located in the Hecuba gap, and stay in a 2:1 mean motion resonance with the gas giant Jupiter. The group has an estimated lifetime of 100 to 500 million years.

  • namesake of the Griqua group.
  • 1362 Griqua

  • Type: B-type asteroid
  • Size: 25.60±3.72 km
  • Rotation: 6.89 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.77 years at 3.216 (2.021 to 4.412) AU
  • Category: main belt (Griqua)

    A dark, Jupiter-resonant asteroid on an eccentric, cometary-like orbit; located in the Hecuba gap in the outermost region of the asteroid belt. It may be an extinct comet. It is the namesake and largest member of the small dynamical Griqua group (known as the "Griquas"). Griqua itself is a background asteroid, and does not belong to any known asteroid family.

  • 3688 Navajo

  • Type: P-type asteroid
  • Size: 6.08±0.05 km
  • Rotation: under investigation
  • Orbital period: 5.78 years at 3.221 (1.680 to 4.762) AU
  • Category: main belt (Griqua)

    A 2:1 Jupiter librator on an eccentric, cometary-like orbit from the outermost regions of the asteroid belt. It may be an extinct comet. Navajo is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.



  • Zhongguo asteroids
    While the Griquas are asteroids in a marginally unstable orbit, the Zhongguo asteroids (or "Zhongguos") are in a rather stable 1:2 resonance with Jupiter. The group of 26 identified members, with a lifetime of more than 530 million (or even 1 billion) years.

  • namesake of the Zhongguo group.
  • 3789 Zhongguo

  • Type: T/Xk-type asteroid
  • Size: 14.01±0.18 km
  • Rotation: 3.8 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.95 years at 3.285 (2.680 to 3.890) AU
  • Category: main belt (Zhongguo)

    A resonant asteroid from outermost region of the asteroid belt. Zhongguo is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.

  • 11573 Helmholtz

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: approx. 13 km
  • Rotation: under investigation
  • Orbital period: 5.88 years at 3.258 (2.3950 to 4.121) AU
  • Category: main belt (Zhongguo)

    An asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt. It is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.



  • Strongly unstable group
    Related but distinct from the "long-lived" Griquas and Zhongguos, is the group of "unstable" Hecuba-gap asteroids. They show life-times of less than 70 million years. It is also thought that approximately 25% of the short-lived population are "extremely unstable", with lifetimes of less than 2 million years.

    Some asteroids have such a high eccentricity with a perihelion of less than 1.3 AU, that qualifies them as a near-Earth object.

    1921 Pala

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: 8.2 km
  • Rotation: under investigation
  • Orbital period: 5.99 years at 3.297 (2.014 to 4.580 ) AU
  • Category: main belt

    A non-family background asteroid in an unstable orbit located in the outer region of asteroid belt.

  • 1922 Zulu

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 12.41±2.6
  • Rotation: 18.64 hours
  • Orbital period: 5.82 years at 3.236 (1.677 to 4.794) AU
  • Category: main belt

    An asteroid in a strongly unstable resonance with Jupiter, located in the outermost regions of the asteroid belt.


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    87 Sylvia

  • Type: X-type asteroid
  • Size: 384 x 262 x 232±10 km
  • Rotation: 5.18 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.52 years at 3.490 (3.213 to 3.768) AU
  • Atmosphere: none
  • Water: none
  • Category: main belt (Sylvia, Cybele)
    Orbit:
  • 2 natural satellites
  • 8th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt.
  • parent body of the Sylvia family.

  • small Unified Forces presence.
  • settlements are mostly subsurface.
  • Sylvia is very dark in color and probably has a very primitive composition. Its density is very low, indicating that the asteroid is porous to very porous; 25%–60% may be empty space. This suggests a loose rubble pile structure.

    Sylvia is the first asteroid known to possess more than one moon. The orbital planes of both satellites and the equatorial plane of the primary asteroid are all well-aligned; all planes are aligned within about 1° of each other, suggestive of satellite formation in or near the equatorial plane of the primary.


    The Unified Government presence is limited to a listening post/inner solar system observation facilities, and a handful of small mining settlements. The Unified Government facilities are centred on Aemilia—also the location of the "main" starport—and the mining and refining industries are centred on Fabricius, with a handful of satellite settlements also centred on mining.

    While the Unified Forces personnel assigned to Sylvia find it extremely remote and boring, the civilian miners love the quiet and laid-back atmosphere that comes from being so far off the beaten track. The settlements are not self-sufficient, and rely on a steady flow of water, food, and other resources from the outside.

    Civilian Gov.:
  • Pop.: hundreds
  • Local Gov.: Unified Government
  • Main Leader(s): under investigation
  • Top military leader: under investigation
  • Military:
  • Starport: small, basic
  • Ship deployed in emergencies: the space cruiser
  • Orbit:
  • 1x Arugenikusu Space Cruiser
  • 1x Northampton class Stealth Frigate
  • Settlements:
  • Aemilia (Capital), less than 300 residents
  • Fabricius (2nd largest), less than 200 residents
  • Towns & Villages: approx. 300 residents spread evenly, with populations that rarely exceed 50 residents.

  • Surface:
  • automated surveillance systems and beacons only
  • Orbit:
  • no permanent facilities
  • (87) Sylvia II Remus

    Remus' orbit follows an almost-circular close-to-equatorial orbit around the parent asteroid. In this respect it is similar to the other moon Romulus. It is likely that both Romulus and Remus are smaller rubble piles which accreted in orbit around the main body, from the debris of the same collision that formed the main body.
  • Size: 7±2 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 1.37 days at 706±5 km.
  • Surface:
  • Cupido (main settlement), less than 150 residents
  • Orbit:
  • no permanent facilities
  • 1x Northampton class Stealth Frigate
  • (87) Sylvia I Romulus

    See Remus for real world information.
    A small Unified Forces forward operating base/surveillance facility is in Cupido. The settlement also supports a small mining community.
  • Size: 10.8±5.6 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 3.64 days at 1,351.35±0.1 km.

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  • in a 7:4 orbital resonance with Jupiter.
  • have osculating semi-major axes of 3.28 to 3.70 AU.
  • A dynamical group of asteroids, named after the asteroid 65 Cybele. Considered by some as the last outpost of an extended asteroid belt, the group consists of nearly 2,000 members, and a few collisional families.

    The dynamical Cybele group is located adjacent to the outermost asteroid belt, beyond the Hecuba gap, and inside the orbital region of the Hilda asteroids, which are themselves followed by the Jupiter trojans further out. The group is thought to have formed from the breakup of a larger object in the distant past.

    Three known asteroid families exist within the Cybele group: the Sylvia family (255 members), the Huberta family (26 members) and the Ulla family (26 members). A potential fourth family is a small cluster with the parent body 2000 EK. A fifth family, named after 522 Helga, was identified in 2015.

    65 Cybele

  • Type: X-type asteroid
  • Size: 302 x 290 x 232 km
  • Rotation: 3.98 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.35 years at 3.428 (3.046 to 3.810) AU
  • namesake of the Cybele group of asteroids.

  • minor settlement like the one on 87 Sylvia.
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    One of the largest asteroids in the Solar System, and is located in the outer asteroid belt. The asteroid may be covered in a layer of fine silicate dust mixed with small amounts of water-ice and organic solids.

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 225 Henrietta

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 120.49±2.5 km
  • Rotation: 7.35 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.24 years at 3.389 (2.494 to 4.283) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A very large outer main-belt asteroid. It is probably in a 4:7 orbital resonance with the planet Jupiter.


  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 466 Tisiphone

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 115.53±2.2 km
  • Rotation: 8.82 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.15 years at 3.355 (3.045 to 3.664) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    An asteroid which orbits among the Cybele family of asteroids.

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 168 Sibylla

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 148.39±4.0 km
  • Rotation: 1.95 days
  • Orbital period: 6.22 years at 3.381 (3.141 to 3.621) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A large asteroid, orbiting beyond most of the main-belt asteroids.


  • 566 Stereoskopia

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: 84.08±3.15 km
  • Rotation: 12.103 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.23 years at 3.385 (2.990 to 3.780) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A large outer main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun.

  • namesake of the Ulla family (30 known members).

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 909 Ulla

  • Type: X-type asteroid
  • Size: 113.13±1.48 km
  • Rotation: 8.73 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.68 years at 3.545 (3.226 to 3.865) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    An asteroid from the outermost regions of the asteroid belt.


  • 790 Pretoria

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: 85.18±1.3 km
  • Rotation: 10.37 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.30 years at 3.411 (2.895 to 3.927) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A member of the Cybele group located beyond the core of the main belt.

  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • 420 Bertholda

  • Type: P-type asteroid
  • Size: 141.25±6.9 km
  • Rotation: 11.04 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.31 years at 3.416 (3.311 to 3.521) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A very large main-belt asteroid.


  • 76 Freia

  • Type: CP-type asteroid
  • Size: 183.7±4 km
  • Rotation: 9.96 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.32 years at 3.418 (2.860 to 3.975) AU
  • small settlement like the one on (87) Sylvia I Romulus.
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A very large main-belt asteroid. Its composition is very primitive and it is extremely dark in color.

  • 260 Huberta

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 94.67±3.6 km
  • Rotation: 8.29 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.39 years at 3.443 (3.047 to 3.840) AU
  • namesake of the Huberta family.
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A large, dark asteroid, rich in carbon. It may have been trapped in a 4:7 orbital resonance with Jupiter.


  • 522 Helga

  • Type: under investigation
  • Size: 50.61±1.75 km
  • Rotation: 8.12 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.92 years at 3.632 (3.328 to 3.37) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    Notable for being the first such object to be shown to be in a stable but chaotic orbit in resonance with Jupiter.

  • 229 Adelinda

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 93.20±4.3 km
  • Rotation: 6.60 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.33 years at 3.421 (2.945 to 3.897) AU
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A large, dark outer main-belt asteroid. It probably in 4:7 orbital resonance with planet Jupiter.


  • minor settlement like the one on 87 Sylvia.
  • 107 Camilla

  • Type: X- type asteroid
  • Size: 285 x 205 x 170 km
  • Rotation: 4.84 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.52 years at 3.491 (3.262 to 3.720) AU
  • S/2016 (107) 1
  • Size: 3.5±0.5 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 12 hours at 340 km.

  • S/2001 (107) 1
  • Size: 11±2 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 3.71 days at 1,235±16 km.
  • Category: main belt (Sylvia, Cybele)

    One of the largest asteroids from the outermost edge of the asteroid belt. It is a rare trinary asteroid, with two minor-planet moons. Camilla has a very dark surface and primitive carbonaceous composition. The natural satellite S/2001 (107) 1 has a similar colour to the primary.

  • minor settlement like the one on 87 Sylvia.
  • 121 Hermione

  • Type: C- type asteroid
  • Size: 268 x 186 x 183 km
  • Rotation: 5.55 hours
  • Orbital period: 6.40 years at 3.447 (2.988 to 3.906) AU
  • S/2002 (121) 1
  • Size: 12±4 km
  • Rotation: unknown
  • Orbital period: 2.58 days at 768±11 km.
  • Category: main belt (Cybele)

    A very large binary asteroid. The asteroid has a bi-lobed shape. In a "snowman"-shaped model, the asteroid can be approximated by two partially overlapping spheres of radii 80 and 60 km, whose centers are separated by a distance of 115 km. The main components are possibly fractured solid bodies, rather than the asteroid being a rubble pile.


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    3552 Don Quixote

  • Type: D-type asteroid
  • Size: 18.4±0.4 km
  • Rotation: 7.7 hours
  • Orbital period: 8.79 years at 4.259 (1.239 to 7.278) AU.
  • Category: near Earth Object, Amor asteroid, Mars-crosser, Jupiter-crosser, Centaur
  • has a highly inclined comet-like orbit of 31° that leads to frequent perturbations by Jupiter.
  • An exceptionally eccentric asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object, as well as a centaur and extinct comet.

    Infrared observations, however, revealed a faint coma and tail around the object. It is still unknown whether the observed activity is persistent or an outburst, resulting from the excavation of sub-surface CO2 ice due to a recent impact of a smaller body.

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    Hilda asteroid


    Left: The Hildas Triangle against a background of all known asteroids up to Jupiter's orbit.
    Right: The positions of the Hildas against a background of their orbits.

    Hildas (black) and Trojans viewed from the ecliptic plane.
    The Hilda asteroids are a dynamical group of more than 4,000 asteroids located beyond the asteroid belt, in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Jupiter. It is not a true asteroid family, since the members are not physically related, but rather share similar orbital elements.

    Hildas move in their elliptical orbits so that their aphelia put them opposite Jupiter (at L3), or 60° ahead of or behind Jupiter at the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points. Over three successive orbits, each Hilda asteroid approaches all of these three points in sequence. A Hilda's orbit has a semi-major axis between 3.7 and 4.2 AU.

    Two collisional families exist within the Hilda group: the Hilda family and the Schubart family.

    Hildas' surface colors often correspond to the D-type and P-type. D-type and P-type asteroids have surface colors (mineralogies) similar to those of cometary nuclei.

    The Hildas taken together constitute a dynamic triangular figure in the triangular libration points of Jupiter—the "Hildas Triangle". The "asteroidal stream" within the sides of the triangle is about 1 AU wide, and in the apexes this value is 20–40% greater. The Hildas Triangle has proven to be dynamically stable over a long time span.

    At the apexes of the triangle—corresponding to the points L4 and L5 of Jupiter's orbit—the Hildas approach the Trojans. At the mid-sides of the triangle, they are close to the asteroids of the external part of the asteroid belt. The velocity dispersion of the Hildas is more evident than that of the Jupiter Trojans in the regions where they intersect. The dispersion of Trojans in inclination is twice that of the Hildas. Due to this, as much as one quarter of the Trojans cannot intersect with the Hildas, and at all times many Trojans are located outside Jupiter's orbit.

  • namesake of the Hilda group, and parent body of the Hilda family.

  • small settlement like the one on 511 Davida.
  • 153 Hilda

  • Type: C-type asteroid
  • Size: 170.63±3.3 km
  • Rotation: 5.958 hours
  • Orbital period: 7.94 years at 3.978 (3.422 to 4.534) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hilda) A large asteroid in the outer main belt. Because it is composed of primitive carbonaceous materials, it has a very dark surface.
  • parent body of the Schubart family.

  • small settlement like the one on 87 Sylvia.
  • 1911 Schubart

  • Type: P-type asteroid
  • Size: 67.47±0.50 km
  • Rotation: 7.91 hours
  • Orbital period: 7.93 years at 3.976 (3.301 to 4.651) AU
  • Category: main belt (Hilda, Schubart) A dark Hildian asteroid.


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    REFERENCES
  • Wikipedia and the numerous contributors to it
  • The Macross Compendium's Atlas
  • The UNSDB's Colonies and Bases list by Daniel Henwood

  • © Aaron Sketchley
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