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 |
---|---|---|---|
160001 Bakonybél | 2006 GU31 | The ancient village of Bakonybél (founded in 1018) is located in the heart of the High Bakony Landscape Protection Area | JPL · 160001 |
160013 Elbrus | 1294 T-2 | Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain of the Caucasus in Russia | JPL · 160013 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
160105 Gobi | 2000 SK43 | The Gobi Desert, a large region in Asia, covering parts of southern Mongolia and northwestern China, historically known for being part of the Mongol Empire, and for the location of several important cities along the Silk Road. | JPL · 160105 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
160215 Haines-Stiles | 2002 CB274 | Geoffrey Haines-Stiles (born 1948) served as the Public Outreach Cinematographer for the New Horizons mission to Pluto. | JPL · 160215 |
160259 Mareike | 2002 QH53 | Mareike Hönig (born 1981), German mathematician and wife of the discoverer Sebastian F. Hönig | JPL · 160259 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
160493 Nantou | 2007 CD13 | Nantou County is located at the geographical center of Taiwan | JPL · 160493 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
160512 Franck-Hertz | 1990 TE11 | James Franck (1882–1964) and Gustav Hertz (1887–1975) received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1925 | JPL · 160512 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
160903 Shiokaze | 2001 TO56 | The Japan Railway's express train Shiokaze was inaugurated in 1972, connecting Uwajima with Takamatsu, Japan | JPL · 160903 |