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 |
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270373 William | 2002 AE3 | William Edmonds (born 1945), a software engineer at NASA | JPL · 270373 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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270472 Csörgei | 2002 CS316 | Tibor Csörgei (born 1972), a Slovak amateur astronomer and observer of meteors, comets and asteroids. | JPL · 270472 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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270553 Loureed | 2002 GG178 | Lou Reed (1942–2013), an American musician, singer and songwriter | JPL · 270553 |
270556 Kolonica | 2002 GX182 | Kolonica, a small Slovak village near the location of the 1-meter Vihorlat National Telescope (VNT) at Kolonica Saddle (Src). Kolonica's inhabitants were very helpful during the observatory construction and still participate often in astronomical activities. | JPL · 270556 |
270558 Nemiroff | 2002 GB185 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 270558 |
270584 Vlasta | 2002 JG150 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 270584 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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270601 Frauenstein | 2002 NN57 | Frauenstein, a small city on the crest of the Erzgebirge Mountains in Saxony, Germany. | JPL · 270601 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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270725 Evka | 2002 QL122 | Eva Morvayová (born 1979), a Slovak amateur astronomer and visual observer, who is a member of the Astronomy Club in Nové Zámky, Slovakia. | IAU · 270725 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
270903 Pakstiene | 2002 TO303 | Erika Pakstiene (born 1971), a Lithuanian astronomer and expert in stellar photometry of variable stars, eclipsing binaries, transiting exoplanets, microlensed objects, and rotating asteroids. Known for her work in asteroseismology of variable stars, she has authored more than 80 scientific papers and written many popular science articles. | IAU · 270903 |