619 Triberga
619 Triberga is an S-type asteroid, meaning a stony, silicaceous composition, that orbits the Sun in the main portion of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.1 • 2 It completes one orbit every 1,460 days, or 4.00 years, moving between 2.33 AU at perihelion and 2.71 AU at aphelion, with an inclination of 13.81 degrees and an eccentricity of 0.0751.1 Its diameter is about 29.05 km, with an albedo of 0.219, and lightcurve measurements give a rotation period of 29.311 hours with amplitudes between 0.25 and 0.45 magnitudes.1 • 3 The asteroid has not been classified as potentially hazardous, as the minimum distance between its orbit and Earth's orbit is 1.33 AU.1
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Orbit | Semi-major axis 2.519 AU, eccentricity 0.0751, inclination 13.81 degrees; period 1,460 days (4.00 years)1 |
| Distance from the Sun | Perihelion 2.33 AU, aphelion 2.71 AU; average orbital speed 18.77 km/s1 |
| Size | Diameter 29.05 km, larger than 99% of asteroids1 |
| Physical properties | Tholen spectral type S, albedo 0.219, absolute magnitude 9.911 |
| Rotation | 29.31 hours per rotation, with lightcurve amplitude 0.25 to 0.45 magnitudes1 • 3 |
| Hazard status | Not a near-Earth object and not classified as potentially hazardous; closest approach to Earth's orbit is 1.33 AU1 |
Discovery and discoverer
August Kopff (1882 to 1960) began as an assistant at the Heidelberg Observatory founded by Max Wolf, received his doctorate there, and later became director of the Astronomical Rechen-Institut in Berlin-Dahlem and professor of theoretical astronomy at the University of Berlin4.
Under the practice described by the Minor Planet Center, the discoverer of a confirmed asteroid submits a name and a citation explaining the choice, subject to guidelines set by the International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature5.
Orbit
Triberga completes one orbit of the Sun every 1,460 days, or 4.00 years, moving between 2.33 AU at perihelion and 2.71 AU at aphelion1. Its orbit is moderately inclined at 13.81 degrees to the ecliptic plane, with a low eccentricity of 0.07511. The Minor Planet Center records 5,252 observations used to determine the orbit, with observations dating back to 23 October 1906 and the most recent official observation on 8 April 20231.
Physical characteristics
Triberga is classified as S-type in the Tholen taxonomy, and a 2025 photometric study in the Minor Planet Bulletin likewise describes it as an S-type middle main-belt asteroid, reporting a color index of V-R = 0.51 ± 0.03 from observations on 1 July 2025, within the expected range for S-type asteroids1 • 2. Its diameter is about 29.05 km, with an albedo of 0.219, meaning it reflects about 22 percent of the sunlight striking it1.
The rotation has been observed photometrically. Lightcurve measurements give a period of 29.311 hours with amplitudes between 0.25 and 0.45 magnitudes, a slow spin consistent with its size3. Shape-model data for the asteroid are held in the DAMIT database of asteroid models from lightcurve inversion6.
Earth-approach status and occultations
JPL has not classified Triberga as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth: the minimum distance between its orbit and Earth's orbit is 1.33 AU, and orbital simulations by NASA JPL's CNEOS show no close approaches to Earth1. It is also not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study1.
On 1 February 2023 UT, the 29 km asteroid occulted an 8.0 magnitude star in the constellation Cetus, with the shadow path predicted to cross southern South Australia, north-western Victoria, and central New South Wales7. Such occultations allow observers to measure an asteroid's size and shape directly and to search for possible satellites, which are expected to orbit within about 10 diameters of the primary7.
References
- Asteroid Triberga, Space Reference
- Minor Planet Bulletin 52 (2025), photometric observations
- Minor Planet Bulletin 49 (2022), lightcurve results
- Kopff, August, Deutsche Biographie
- A Rock By Any Other Name, NASA JPL (2003)
- Asteroid (619) Triberga, DAMIT database
- Occultation by (619) Triberga, 2023 Feb 01, RASNZ Occultation Section
Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Main-belt asteroids and numbered minor planets › Middle-belt asteroids › Asteroids named for places
Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026
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