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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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 |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
---|---|---|---|
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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156542 Hogg | 2002 CM314 | David W. Hogg (born 1970), American astronomer with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey | JPL · 156542 |
156580 Madách | 2002 EF157 | Imre Madách (1823–1864), a Hungarian poet, writer, lawyer, and corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. | IAU · 156580 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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156631 Margitan | 2002 JM8 | James Margitan (born 1951), atmospheric researcher and manager at JPL's Science Division | JPL · 156631 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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156751 Chelseaferrell | 2002 XL92 | Chelsea L. Ferrell (born 1988), of the Southwest Research Institute, was a resource analyst working for the New Horizons mission to Pluto. | JPL · 156751 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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156879 Eloïs | 2003 EQ1 | Eloïs Hernandez (born 2007), son of Michel Hernandez, a French astronomer at the Observatory of Saint-Veran where this minor planet was discovered | JPL · 156879 |
156880 Bernardtregon | 2003 ES1 | Bernard Tregon (born 1968), French amateur astronomer, interferometry specialist, and observer at the Pic du Midi Observatory | JPL · 156880 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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156939 Odegard | 2003 FB120 | John D. Odegard (1941–1998) was an American aviation visionary who started the flight-training program at the University of North Dakota in 1968 that is now known as the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. | JPL · 156939 |
156990 Claerbout | 2003 KX18 | Jon Claerbout (born 1938), American geophysicist and contributor to the theory and art of seismic exploration. He is a pioneer of computer-modelling wave propagation and of seismic interferometry, examining the structure of the Earth and the Sun. | JPL · 156990 |