15760 Albion (provisional designation 1992 QB1) was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. Measuring about 108–167 kilometres in diameter, it was discovered in 1992 by David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. After the discovery, they dubbed the object "Smiley" and it was shortly hailed as the tenth planet by the press. It is a "cold" classical Kuiper belt object and gave rise to the name cubewano for this kind of object, after the QB1 portion of its designation. Decoding its provisional designation, "QB1" reveals that it was the 27th object found in the second half of August of that year. As of January 2018, around 2,400 further objects have been found beyond Neptune, a majority of which are classical Kuiper belt objects. It was named after Albion from William Blake's mythology.
In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered every year. Astronomers need to be able to assign systematic designations to unambiguously identify all of these objects, and at the same time give names to the most interesting objects, and where relevant, features of those objects.
Provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention applied to astronomical objects immediately following their discovery. The provisional designation is usually superseded by a permanent designation once a reliable orbit has been calculated. Approximately 47% of the more than 1,100,000 known minor planets remain provisionally designated, as hundreds of thousands have been discovered in the last two decades.
4923 Clarke, provisional designation 1981 EO27, is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1981, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The spheroidal S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 3.14 hours. It was named after British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. On the same night, Schelte Bus also discovered 5020 Asimov.
26858 Misterrogers, provisional designation 1993 FR, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt, approximately 5.1 miles in diameter. It was discovered on March 21, 1993, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California. The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.0 hours. It was named after children's television host Fred Rogers.
1863 Antinous, provisional designation 1948 EA, is a stony asteroid and near-Earth object, approximately 2–3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 March 1948 by American astronomer Carl Wirtanen at Lick Observatory on the summit of Mount Hamilton, California. It was named after Antinous from Greek mythology.
A formal minor-planet designation is, in its final form, a number–name combination given to a minor planet. Such designation always features a leading number assigned to a body once its orbital path is sufficiently secured. The formal designation is based on the minor planet's provisional designation, which was previously assigned automatically when it had been observed for the first time. Later on, the provisional part of the formal designation may be replaced with a name. Both formal and provisional designations are overseen by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), a branch of the International Astronomical Union.
2340 Hathor, provisional designation 1976 UA, is an eccentric stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid. It belongs to the Aten group of asteroids and measures approximately 210 meters in diameter. Discovered by Charles Kowal in 1976, it was later named after the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor.
12359 Cajigal, provisional designation 1993 SN3, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.
14335 Alexosipov, provisional designation 1981 RR3, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Soviet–Russian astronomer Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on 3 September 1981. The asteroid was named after astronomer Alexandr Osipov.
2285 Ron Helin, provisional designation 1976 QB, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 27 August 1976, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California.
7776 Takeishi, provisional designation 1993 BF, is a background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 January 1993, by Japanese astronomer Takeshi Urata at the Nihondaira Observatory in Japan. The assumed S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.9 hours. It was named after Japanese amateur astronomer Masanori Takeishi.
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term minor planet, but that year's meeting reclassified minor planets and comets into dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies (SSSBs). In contrast to the eight official planets of the Solar System, all minor planets fail to clear their orbital neighborhood.
4142 Dersu-Uzala, provisional designation 1981 KE, is a Hungaria asteroid, sizable Mars-crosser and potentially slow rotator from the innermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Czech astronomer Zdeňka Vávrová at Kleť Observatory on 28 May 1981. The rare A-type asteroid has a rotation period of 140 hours. It was named after the Siberian trapper and hunter Dersu Uzala.
12999 Toruń, provisional designation 1981 QJ2, is a carbonaceous Baptistina asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 August 1981, by British–American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell Observatory's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, and named after the Polish city of Toruń.
A minor planet is "lost" when today's observers cannot find it, because its location is too uncertain to target observations. This happens if the orbital elements of a minor planet are not known accurately enough, typically because the observation arc for the object is too short, or too few observations were made before the object became unobservable.
The Palomar–Leiden survey (PLS) was a successful astronomical survey to study faint minor planets in a collaboration between the U.S Palomar Observatory and the Dutch Leiden Observatory, and resulted in the discovery of thousands of asteroids, including many Jupiter trojans.
(589683) 2010 RF43 (provisional designation 2010 RF43) is a large trans-Neptunian object orbiting in the scattered disc in the outermost regions of the Solar System. The object was discovered on 9 September 2010, by American astronomers David Rabinowitz, Megan Schwamb and Suzanne Tourtellotte at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.
4324 Bickel, provisional designation 1981 YA1, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 December 1981, by American astronomer Laurence Taff at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico, United States. The asteroid was named after amateur astronomer Wolf Bickel.
