740 Cantabia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on 10 February 1913 at Winchester, Massachusetts by American amateur astronomer J. H. Metcalf. Cantabia is a contraction of Cantabrigia, Latin for Cambridge, named in honor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is orbiting at a distance of with a period of and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.11. Between 2014 and 2021, 740 Cantabia has been observed to occult three stars.
This asteroid shows an exceptionally slow rate of spin. Photometry observations from two independent teams during 2009 were combined to generate a light curve showing a rotation period of with a brightness variation of in magnitude. The spectrum is classified as type CX in the Tholen taxonomy. It spans a girth estimated at ~91 km.
See also List of minor planets/701–800 Meanings of minor planet names: 501–1000
References
External links , Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2009) Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info ) Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center