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 |
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418220 Kestutis | 2008 CL177 | Kestutis (1297–1382) was monarch of medieval Lithuania. | JPL · 418220 |
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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418419 Lacanto | 2008 MT1 | The Jesuit school in the medieval town of Porrentruy, Switzerland, was founded in 1591 by the bishop of Basel, Jacques-Christophe Blarer of Wartensee. In 1979 the old school became the Lycée cantonal, which is nicknamed "La Canto" by students. The discoverer has taught physics there for more than thirty years. | IAU · 418419 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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418532 Saruman | 2008 SZ84 | Saruman is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings". In the film version, the role of Saruman was played by actor Christopher Lee. | JPL · 418532 |
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
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418689 Gema | 2008 UQ4 | The Asociación deportiva GEMA (Grupo de Espeleólogia Murcielago Alegre), is a speleology group based in Gijon, Asturias, Spain. Founded in the late 1960s by a group of amateurs, generations of its members have explored many caves in the karst massif of Picos de Europa, in northern Spain. | IAU · 418689 |
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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418891 Vizi | 2008 YK148 | Szilveszter E. Vizi (born 1936), a Hungarian physician, neuroscientist, pharmacologist and university professor | JPL · 418891 |
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 |