Named for the Seeberg Observatory, situated upon a well-marked hill close to the town of Gotha {see planet  (1346)}. In the time of the duke Ernst II von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (1745–1804) and the astronomer F. X. von Zach {see planet  (999)}, it was an important center for astronomy. The first meeting of European astronomers took place at the Seeberg Observatory in August 1789. This naming honors the 200th anniversary of that conference, as well as the 1998 International Spring Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in Gotha, held on the occasion of this anniversary. (M 31612) _ _.