File:001039-asteroid_shape_model_(1039)_Sonneberga.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
1039 Sonneberga is a main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on November 24, 1924, by Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The object is named after Sonneberg and has a diameter of 33.853 kilometers with an albedo of 0.053. Its rotation period is 34.2 hours.
The asteroid’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.6797744 AU and an orbital period of 1602.139008823843 days. It has an orbital eccentricity of 0.06109620776850015 and an inclination of 4.55574 degrees. The periapsis is 2.5209680 AU, while the apoapsis is 2.843299493416586 AU. The mean anomaly is 326.05399, the longitude of the ascending node is 221.73048, and the argument of periapsis is 327.67332. Its absolute magnitude is listed as 11.66 in one source and 11.64 in another.
Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, NASA, Jpl Sbdb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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2026-07-04
On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.
via NASA APOD
Small body data
1039 Sonneberga (A924 WP)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 33.853 km
- Albedo
- 0.053
- Rotation period
- 34.200 h
- Absolute magnitude
- 11.640 H
- Earth MOID
- 1.520 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Key facts
- Discovered by
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 24 November 1924
- Named after
- Sonneberg (German city and its local observatory )
- Alternative designations
- 1924 TL · 1942 XG, 1984 OK
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle )
- Observation arc
- 92.34 yr (33,728 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.8387 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.5213 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.6800 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.39 yr (1,603 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 281.23 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 28.56 / day
- Inclination
- 4.5557°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 221.73°
- Argument of perihelion
- 327.56°
- Dimensions
- 30.17 ± 8.55 km , 33.853 ± 0.294 km , 33.919 ± 0.128 km , 33.99 ± 0.72 km , 34.32 ± 7.47 km , 36.60 km (derived) , 36.70 ± 1.4 km
- Synodic rotation period
- 34.2 ± 0.03 h
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Sonneberg
- Followed by
- 1040 Klumpkea
- Follows
- 1038 Tuckia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 33.853
- Orbital period
- 1602.139008823843
- Image
- 001039-asteroid shape model (1039) Sonneberga.png
Show 19 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Max Wolf
- site of astronomical discovery
- Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
- provisional designation
- A924 WP
- time of discovery or invention
- 1924-11-24
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.06109620776850015
- orbital inclination
- 4.55312005374924
- periapsis
- 2.515874297989348
- apoapsis
- 2.843299493416586
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.679586895702967
- mean anomaly
- 237.2993265940468
- longitude of ascending node
- 221.6440620005396
- argument of periapsis
- 325.4720443695693
- absolute magnitude
- 11.66
- Commons category
- 1039 Sonneberga
- albedo
- 0.053
- rotation period
- 34.2
- asteroid spectral type
- X-type asteroid
- time of periapsis
- 2461546.5653757574
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
1039 Sonneberga, provisional designation 1924 TL, is a dark background asteroid, approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 24 November 1924, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named for the German city of Sonneberg, where the Sonneberg Observatory is located.
Orbit and classification
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “1039 Sonneberga” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.