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 |
---|---|---|---|
115015 Chang Díaz | 2003 QX84 | Franklin Chang Díaz (born 1950) was an astronaut for 25 years and flew seven Space Shuttle missions from 1986 to 2002. He logged more than 1600 hours in space and helped to deploy the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter. He is the first Costa Rican astronaut and is also of Chinese descent. | JPL · 115015 |
115051 Safaeinili | 2003 RC6 | Ali Safaeinili (1964–2009), radar scientist and electrical engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory | JPL · 115051 |
115058 Tassantal | 2003 RH8 | Antal Tass (1876–1937), Hungarian astronomer, and director of Konkoly Observatory from 1916 to 1936 | JPL · 115058 |
115059 Nagykároly | 2003 RJ8 | Károly Nagy (1797–1868), Hungarian astronomer, mathematician, chemist and politician | JPL · 115059 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
115210 Mutvicens | 2003 SY124 | Vicens Mut (1614–1687), a Mallorcan historian, military engineer and one of the most important astronomers of his time. | IAU · 115210 |
115254 Fényi | 2003 SF158 | Gyula Fényi (1845–1927), Hungarian Jesuit and astronomer | JPL · 115254 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
115312 Whither | 2003 SP215 | Whitney Young (born 1990) and Heather Young (born 1992), granddaughters of American astronomer James Whitney Young who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 115312 |
115326 Wehinger | 2003 SC221 | Peter A. Wehinger (born 1938), American astronomer, and development officer for the Giant Magellan Telescope | JPL · 115326 |
115331 Shrylmiles | 2003 SL224 | Shryl Miles, American from Benson, Arizona, who has campaigned against light pollution | JPL · 115331 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
115434 Kellyfast | 2003 TU2 | Kelly E. Fast (born 1968), a program scientist for the MAVEN spacecraft at NASA | JPL · 115434 |
115449 Robson | 2003 TG10 | Monty Robson, American founder and director of the John J. McCarthy Observatory ( 932 ) in New Milford, Connecticut | JPL · 115449 |
115477 Brantanica | 2003 UK8 | Brandon Danielson (born 1994), Brittany Danielson (born 1996) and Monica Rahn (born 2006), grandchildren of American astronomer James Whitney Young, who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 115477 |
115492 Watonga | 2003 UR22 | Watonga, Oklahoma, the birthplace of the discoverer | JPL · 115492 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
115561 Frankherbert | 2003 UF80 | Frank Herbert (1920–1986), American science fiction writer best known for his novel Dune | JPL · 115561 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
There are no named minor planets in this number range |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
115801 Punahou | 2003 UW236 | Punahou School, a private college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | JPL · 115801 |
115885 Ganz | 2003 VL1 | Ábrahám Ganz (1814–1867), Swiss-Hungarian technical engineer | JPL · 115885 |
115891 Scottmichael | 2003 VW2 | Scott Young (born 1996) and Michael Young (born 1998), grandsons of American astronomer James Whitney Young who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 115891 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
115950 Kocherpeter | 2003 WT33 | Peter Kocher (born 1939), Swiss amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets | JPL · 115950 |