{ "id": "epqwb14vcr", "slug": "528-rezia", "title": "528 Rezia", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial", "label": "Extraterrestrial places", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies", "label": "Small bodies of the Solar System", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt", "label": "Main-belt asteroids and numbered minor planets", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids", "label": "Outer-belt asteroids", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig", "label": "Asteroids named for literary and allegorical figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig", "label": "Non-geographic · Not dated: Asteroids named for literary and allegorical figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig", "path": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo", "label": "Non-geographic", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate", "label": "Non-geographic · Not dated", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial", "label": "Extraterrestrial places", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies", "label": "Small bodies of the Solar System", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt", "label": "Main-belt asteroids and numbered minor planets", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids", "label": "Outer-belt asteroids", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig", "label": "Asteroids named for literary and allegorical figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig" } ] } ], "excerpt": "528 Rezia (1904 NS), a large outer main-belt asteroid about 92 km across, discovered 1904 by Max Wolf at Heidelberg, named for a character in Weber's opera Oberon; rotation 7.34 hours, albedo about 0.05, not hazardous.", "snippet": "528 Rezia (1904 NS), a large outer main-belt asteroid about 92 km across, discovered 1904 by Max Wolf at Heidelberg, named for a character in Weber's opera Oberon; rotation 7.34 hours, albedo about 0.05, not hazardous.", "node": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-main-belt.outer-belt-asteroids.asteroids-named-for-literary-and-allegorical-fig", "markdown": "# 528 Rezia\n\n**528 Rezia** (provisional designation 1904 NS) is a large asteroid in the outer main asteroid belt, about 92 km across, discovered on 20 March 1904 by Max F. Wolf at [Heidelberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/heidelberg)[1](https://planety.astro.cz/planetka-528) • [2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). It is named for Rezia, a character in the opera *Oberon* by the German composer [Carl Maria von Weber](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-maria-von-weber) (1786–1826)[3](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Discovery | 20 March 1904 by M. F. Wolf at Heidelberg; provisional designation 1904 NS[1](https://planety.astro.cz/planetka-528) |\n| Orbit | Semi-major axis 3.398 AU, eccentricity 0.022, inclination 12.71°; period 2,290 days (6.27 years)[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) |\n| Distance range | Perihelion 3.32 AU, aphelion 3.47 AU[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) |\n| Size | About 92 km diameter (91.966 km); occultation dimensions 83 ±3, 85 ±1, and 87 ±8 km[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) • [4](https://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/Asteroid_Dimensions_from_Occultations.html) |\n| Surface brightness | Albedo 0.046, a very dark surface; absolute magnitude H = 9.22[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) • [1](https://planety.astro.cz/planetka-528) |\n| Rotation | 7.34 hours per rotation; spin axis at ecliptic longitude 176°, latitude −59°[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) • [5](https://vesta.astro.amu.edu.pl/Science/Asteroids/Spindata/spin.pdf) |\n| Hazard status | Not a near-Earth object and not classified as potentially hazardous; its orbit stays 2.33 AU from Earth's orbit at the closest point[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) |\n\n## Orbit and classification\n\nRezia orbits the Sun in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). Its orbit is nearly circular, with an eccentricity of 0.022, and tilted 12.71° to the ecliptic; one revolution takes 2,290 days, or about 6.27 years, at an average orbital speed of 16.14 km/s[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). The orbit carries the asteroid from 3.32 AU at perihelion to 3.47 AU at aphelion[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa).\n\nBecause the orbit never approaches Earth's, JPL has not classified Rezia as a potentially hazardous object, and orbital simulations by NASA JPL's CNEOS show no close approaches to Earth[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). The asteroid is also not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa).\n\nThe orbit is well determined. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 9,550 observations used in the orbit solution, with observations dating back to the discovery date of 20 March 1904[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). A Czech asteroid database lists 10,592 observations across 56 oppositions covering 1904 to 2026[1](https://planety.astro.cz/planetka-528).\n\n## Physical properties\n\nRezia is a large body for the main belt, about 92.0 km in diameter, which places it among the larger asteroids of its region[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). Size estimates from different methods agree closely. The [AKARI](https://www.edgepedia.org/akari) mid-infrared survey measured a diameter of 84.62 ± 1.04 km with an albedo of 0.057[6](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43545172.pdf), while stellar occultation measurements from 2003 to 2017 give dimensions of 83 ±3, 85 ±1, and 87 ±8 km along three axes[4](https://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/Asteroid_Dimensions_from_Occultations.html). The albedo of about 0.046 to 0.057 means the surface reflects only around five percent of incident sunlight, a very dark reflectivity typical of many outer-belt asteroids[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa) • [6](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43545172.pdf).\n\n**Rotation and shape.** Rezia completes one rotation every 7.34 hours[2](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa). A shape and spin model derived by lightcurve inversion, the technique of reconstructing an asteroid's shape and rotation state from its brightness variations, gives a sidereal period of 7.33797 hours and a spin axis pointing at ecliptic longitude 176° and latitude −59°[5](https://vesta.astro.amu.edu.pl/Science/Asteroids/Spindata/spin.pdf) • [7](https://damit.cuni.cz/projects/damit/asteroid_models/index/page%3A295/sort%3Aquality_flag/direction%3Aasc). The model is held in the DAMIT database (Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques), which collects published asteroid shape models, rotation periods, and spin axis directions[8](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200912693).\n\n## Occultations and observing\n\nStellar occultations, in which the asteroid briefly blocks the light of a background star, have been used to measure Rezia's size and shape. A predicted event on 28 August 2013 was to carry the asteroid's shadow across a path beginning over Brisbane, occulting a 12.2-magnitude star in the constellation [Cetus](https://www.edgepedia.org/cetus-constellation); the combined light of asteroid and star was expected to drop by 2.2 magnitudes for at most 8.9 seconds[9](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2013/updates/130828_528_30096_u.htm). Further occultation chords were recorded in 2023, including events on 8 May and 1 June 2023[10](https://astro.kretlow.de/cora/events/sodis/2023-06-01/UCAC4%20478-052906/%28528%29%20Rezia/).\n\nFor amateur observers, Rezia is a accessible target at magnitude around 13.9 near opposition, and in late October 2026 it passes close on the sky to the galaxy NGC 840 in Cetus, a useful alignment for telescope pointing[11](https://minorplanet.info/obsguides/appulses/DSO_October2026.html).\n\n## Name\n\nThe name honors Rezia, a character in *Oberon*, an opera by Carl Maria von Weber[3](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf). Wolf discovered several other asteroids on the same night in March 1904, including [529 Preziosa](https://www.edgepedia.org/529-preziosa) and, days later, 530 Turandot and [531 Zerlina](https://www.edgepedia.org/531-zerlina), several of which also carry names from opera[3](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Planetka Rezia (528), Planety.cz](https://planety.astro.cz/planetka-528)\n2. [Asteroid Rezia, Space Reference](https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/528-rezia-a904-fa)\n3. [Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, 5th ed., L. D. Schmadel](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf)\n4. [Asteroid Dimensions from Occultations, asteroidoccultation.com](https://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/Asteroid_Dimensions_from_Occultations.html)\n5. [Asteroid spin vector solutions, A. W. Harris et al.](https://vesta.astro.amu.edu.pl/Science/Asteroids/Spindata/spin.pdf)\n6. [Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey with AKARI](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43545172.pdf)\n7. [DAMIT asteroid models, (528) Rezia](https://damit.cuni.cz/projects/damit/asteroid_models/index/page%3A295/sort%3Aquality_flag/direction%3Aasc)\n8. [DAMIT: a database of asteroid models, Astronomy & Astrophysics](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200912693)\n9. [Occultation by (528) Rezia, 2013 Aug 28, RASNZ Occultation Section](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2013/updates/130828_528_30096_u.htm)\n10. [2023-06-01 occultation by (528) Rezia, Cora Occultation Archive](https://astro.kretlow.de/cora/events/sodis/2023-06-01/UCAC4%20478-052906/%28528%29%20Rezia/)\n11. [Asteroid-DSO Appulses, 2026 October, minorplanet.info](https://minorplanet.info/obsguides/appulses/DSO_October2026.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Main-belt asteroids and numbered minor planets › Outer-belt asteroids › Asteroids named for literary and allegorical figures*\n\n*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"528 Rezia\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[528 Rezia](https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia](https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"528 Rezia\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/528-rezia. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "528 Rezia, a large outer main-belt asteroid about 92 km across, discovered 1904 by Max Wolf at Heidelberg, named for a character in Weber's opera Oberon; rotation 7.34 hours, albedo about 0.05, not hazardous." }