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 |
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400072 Radviliskis | 2006 SQ197 | Radviliskis, a city in Siauliai County, Lithuania. | IAU · 400072 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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400162 SAIT | 2006 VM85 | SAIT is the acronym of the Societa Astronomica Italiana (Italian Society of Astronomy). Founded in Palermo in 1871 under the name Italian Society of Spectroscopists, it was the first professional association specializing in “physical astronomy” and its Memorie (1872) is considered the world's first astrophysics journal. | IAU · 400162 |
400193 Castión | 2006 XW60 | The city of Castiglione dei Pepoli (also known as "Castión") is a medieval fiefdom of the Pepoli noble family, in the Bolognese Apennines, Italy. The second discoverer has lived there for many years. | JPL · 400193 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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400308 Antonkutter | 2007 TX184 | Anton Kutter (1903–1985), a German engineer, film director, screenwriter and amateur astronomer. | JPL · 400308 |
400309 Ralfhofner | 2007 TC185 | Ralf Hofner (1960–2014), a German amateur astronomer and founder of one of the biggest European Star Parties, located near Herzberg, Brandenburg. | JPL · 400309 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
400673 Vitapolunina | 2009 OL5 | Viktoriya (Vita) Polunina (born 1967), Professor Doctor of medical sciences, is a specialist in reflex therapy in children, reconstructive and sports medicine, therapeuticphysical training, and the author of more than 70 scientific papers. | JPL · 400673 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
400796 Douglass | 2010 FQ77 | Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–1895) was an American born into slavery who became a leading abolitionist and supporter of women's rights. Through his writings and speeches, he tirelessly fought slavery. He advised presidents, served in government, and pushed for equal protection of all under the law. | JPL · 400796 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
400811 Gillesfontaine | 2010 GF153 | Gilles Fontaine (1948–2019) was a Canadian astrophysicist at the Universite de Montreal. He made fundamental and lasting contributions to our knowledge of white dwarf interiors, evolution and pulsations. He was an inspiring teacher and mentor, who has trained a new generation of leaders in the field. | JPL · 400811 |
400881 Vladimírdolinay | 2010 PY56 | Vladimír Dolinay (1981–2020) was a Slovak teacher, civic and local activist, promoter of education and an advocate for building bridges between Slovakia and Slovak minorities abroad, especially in Romania, where he worked as a teacher. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of the project to build a planetarium in Bratislava. | IAU · 400881 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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There are no named minor planets in this number range |