As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU's naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets in the specified number-range that have received names, and explains the meanings of those names.
Official naming citations of newly named small Solar System bodies are approved and published in a bulletin by IAU's Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN). [1] Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades. [2] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB). [3] Until his death in 2016, German astronomer Lutz D. Schmadel compiled these citations into the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (DMP) and regularly updated the collection. [4] [5]
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets , [6] Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named prior to World War II. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : SBDB New namings may only be added to this list below after official publication as the preannouncement of names is condemned. [7] The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies. [8]
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69159 Ivanking | 2003 JE16 | Ivan R. King (born 1927), prominent astronomer working mainly on the studies of globular clusters. He is best known for a family of dynamical models that bear his name. He is a recipient of numerous professional honors and distinctions, including the Presidency of the American Astronomical Society. | JPL · 69159 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69228 Kamerunberg | 5173 T-3 | Mount Cameroon (called Kamerunberg in German), the 4040-meter active volcano, situated in Cameroon near the Gulf of Guinea. | JPL · 69228 |
69230 Hermes | 1937 UB | Hermes, from Greek mythology, messenger of the gods, son of Zeus and Maia. His attributes are the most complex and varied of those of any of the major gods. He was a deity of wealth, god of trade and travelers, of commerce, manual skill, oratory and eloquence, of thieves and of the wind. Named by the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut. | JPL · 69230 |
69231 Alettajacobs | 1972 FE | Aletta Jacobs (1854–1929), the first Dutch woman to graduate from a university and the first Dutch female physician. She helped initiate The Hague Congress of 1915 that led to the formation of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The name was suggested by L. E. Timmerman. | JPL · 69231 |
69245 Persiceto | 1981 EO | San Giovanni in Persiceto, a small Italian town near Bologna, where an enthusiastic group of amateur astronomers, with the strong support of the municipality, created the Museo del Cielo e della Terra, a large complex devoted to the popularization of the natural sciences, in particular astronomy. | JPL · 69245 |
69259 Savostyanov | 1982 ST7 | Savostyanov Fedor Vasil'evich (1924–2012), a Russian painter who painted portraits, landscapes, genre and battle paintings. | JPL · 69259 |
69260 Tonyjudt | 1982 TJ | Tony Judt (1948–2010), an English-American historian, essayist, and historian. He is the Erich Maria Remarque Professor in European Studies at New York University, known for his publications on Israel and France, and especially for his book Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. | JPL · 69260 |
69261 Philaret | 1982 YM1 | Philaret (Vasily Mikhailovich Drozdov, 1783–1867), metropolitan bishop of Moscow and Kolomna, was an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and ordinary academician in the Department of Russian Language and Literature. Name suggested by N. N. Drozdov. | JPL · 69261 |
69263 Big Ben | 1987 BB2 | Big Ben, at Westminster, is the nickname of both the great bell and clock tower of the world's largest four-faced chiming clock. In May 2009 it celebrated its 150th anniversary. | JPL · 69263 |
69264 Nebra | 1988 PE4 | The German town of Nebra where the Nebra sky disk from the Bronze Age has been found. First documented in 876, it is located on the Unstrut river, 35 kilometers from Tautenburg, where the discovering observatory is located. | JPL · 69264 |
69273 Derbyastro | 1989 TN1 | The Derby and District Astronomical Society is based in Derby, England and was founded in 1974 by Jane Kirk. | IAU · 69273 |
69275 Wiesenthal | 1989 WD4 | Simon Wiesenthal (1908–2005), Austro-Hungarian Nazi war criminal hunter who survived the Nazi camps of World War II. After the war, he courageously gathered data on the perpetrators of the Holocaust. He wrote several books, including I Hunted Eichmann and The Murderers Among Us. | JPL · 69275 |
69286 von Liebig | 1990 TN9 | Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), a German chemist and full professor who made many important contributions to the fields of inorganic and organic, biological and agricultural chemistry. Students from all over Europe came to study with him. He introduced the mineral fertilizers. | JPL · 69286 |
69287 Günthereichhorn | 1990 TW10 | Günther Eichhorn (born 1945), a German-American astronomer who developed and managed the Astrophysics Data System from 1992 to 2007. For this work he was awarded the 2008 Award for Services in Astronomy from the Royal Astronomical Society. | JPL · 69287 |
69288 Berlioz | 1990 TW11 | Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), French Romantic composer and critic who is known for his dramatic Symphonie fantastique and great Requiem. He is regarded as the founder of the Program music. His paper Treatise on Instrumentation served as a leading handbook for later tonalists. | JPL · 69288 |
69295 Stecklum | 1991 TO6 | Bringfried Stecklum (born 1954) is a German astrophysicist working on star formation with emphasis on high angular resolution measurements. In 2010 he resumed asteroid observations using the Tautenburg 1.34-m Schmidt telescope, with the main focus on near-Earth object confirmation. | JPL · 69295 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69311 Russ | 1992 QC | Russell Mark Steel (born 1964), brother of Duncan Steel who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 69311 |
69312 Rogerbacon | 1992 SH17 | Roger Bacon (c. 1219–1292), English philosopher | JPL · 69312 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69406 Martz-Kohl | 1995 SX48 | The US Martz-Kohl Observatory is located in Frewsburg, New York, named after Marshal Martz and Ron Kohl's, who built one of the world's largest amateur telescopes for the observatory in the 1950s (Src). | IAU · 69406 |
69421 Keizosaji | 1995 YT2 | Keizo Saji (1919–1999), well-known businessman in Japan and the honorary chief of the Saji Astro Park | JPL · 69421 |
69423 Openuni | 1996 AA2 | The Open University (founded 23 April 1969) is the world's leading university for flexible, innovative distance learning, having educated over 2 million part-time students. Through its research in astronomy, planetary and space science, the OU has a distinguished history of involvement in major Solar System exploration missions. | IAU · 69423 |
69434 de Gerlache | 1996 HC21 | Adrien de Gerlache (1866–1934), Belgian naval officer who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897 to 1899 | JPL · 69434 |
69460 Christibarnard | 1996 UO1 | Christiaan Barnard (1922–2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant in 1967 . | JPL · 69460 |
69469 Krumbenowe | 1996 WR | Krumbenowe (Chrumbenowe) is the oldest documented name of the town of Český Krumlov. Dating from the mid–13th century, the name seems to originate from German words "Krumben Ouwe", "Krumme Aue" (skew mead) or, maybe, from the much older "Wilt Ahwa" (wild water), referring to the Vltava river. | JPL · 69469 |
69496 Zaoryuzan | 1997 AE22 | Zao Ryuzan, a 1362-meter mountain located to the southeast of Yamagata city, Yamagata prefecture, Japan | JPL · 69496 |
69500 Ginobartali | 1997 CB6 | Gino Bartali (1914–2000), an Italian cyclist. | JPL · 69500 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69565 Giulioscarfi | 1998 AZ4 | Giulio Scarfì (born 1964), an Italian amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets, who owns the Monte Viseggi Observatory ( 126 ) as well as the Iota Scorpii Observatory ( K78 ) in Italy. His interests include asteroid photometry (rotational light-curves) and near-Earth object observations. | IAU · 69565 |
69585 Albertoraugei | 1998 DN35 | Alberto Raugei (born 1963) has been an amateur astronomer at the Gruppo Astrofili Montelupo since 1995. He is the business consultant of the group. | IAU · 69585 |
69594 Ulferika | 1998 FF11 | Erika (born 1940) and Ulf Lehmann (born 1939), the parents of the discoverer Gerhard Lehmann | JPL · 69594 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69754 Mosesmendel | 1998 MM39 | Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), German-Jewish philosopher | JPL · 69754 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69869 Haining | 1998 SX62 | The Chinese Haining City, located at the southern tip of the Yangtze River in northern Zhejiang province | JPL · 69869 |
69870 Fizeau | 1998 SM64 | Hyppolite Fizeau (1819–1896), a French physicist who improved photographic processes | JPL · 69870 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
69961 Millosevich | 1998 VS33 | Elia Millosevich (1848–1919), Italian astronomer and discoverer of minor planets | MPC · 69961 |
69971 Tanzi | 1998 WD2 | Pepe Tanzi (born 1945), Italian lighting industrial designer | JPL · 69971 |
69977 Saurodonati | 1998 WL9 | Sauro Donati (born 1959), Italian amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets | JPL · 69977 |