As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, "they are given a permanent number by," the: IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC), and theββdiscoverers 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). Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades. Recent citations can also be, found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB). 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.
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets, Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named priorββto World War II. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: SBDB New namings may only be addedββto this list below after official publication as the preannouncement of names is condemned. The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.
5001β5100β»
Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
5001 EMP | 1987 SB1 | The annual publication Ephemerides Of Minor Planets (Russian: Ehfemeridy Malykh Planet). It contains astrometric information about minor planets | MPC · 5001 |
5002 Marnix | 1987 SS3 | Philips Marnix van Sint Aldegonde (1538β1598), mayor of Antwerp, believed to have been the composer of the 'Wilhelmus', which became the Dutch national anthem in 1932 | MPC · 5002 |
5003 Silvanominuto | 1988 ER2 | Silvano Minuto (born 1940), Italian amateur astronomer, founder of the Suno Observatory and promoter of several regional laws on light pollution | JPL · 5003 |
5004 Bruch | 1988 RR3 | Max Bruch (1838β1920), German composer | MPC · 5004 |
5005 Kegler | 1988 UB | Ignatius Kegler (1680β1746), a German Jesuit and Astronomer Royal in Beijing | MPC · 5005 |
5006 Teller | 1989 GL5 | Edward Teller (1908β2003), Hungarian-born American physicist | MPC · 5006 |
5007 Keay | 1990 UH2 | Colin Stewart Lindsay Keay (born 1930), Australian physicist and astronomer past president of IAU Commission 22 and chairman of the IAU Working Group on the Prevention of Interplanetary Pollution | MPC · 5007 |
5008 Miyazawakenji | 1991 DV | Kenji Miyazawa, Japanese poet and children's novelist | JPL · 5008 |
5009 Sethos | 2562 P-L | Sethos I, an Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty | MPC · 5009 |
5010 AmenemhΓͺt | 4594 P-L | AmenemhΔt III (1844β1797 B.C.), an Egyptian pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty | MPC · 5010 |
5011 Ptah | 6743 P-L | Ptah, Egyptian god | MPC · 5011 |
5012 Eurymedon | 9507 P-L | Eurymedon, charioteer of Agamemnon and servant of Nestor in the Trojan War | MPC · 5012 |
5013 Suzhousanzhong | 1964 VT1 | Suzhousanzhong ("Suzhou No. 3 Middle School"), Jiangsu province, "China," on the occasion (2006) of its 100th anniversary | JPL · 5013 |
5014 Gorchakov | 1974 ST | Prince Alexander Gorchakov (1798β1883), chancellor of the Russian Empire | JPL · 5014 |
5015 Litke | 1975 VP | Count Fyodor Litke (1797β1882), Russian navigator and explorer | JPL · 5015 |
5016 Migirenko | 1976 GX3 | Georgij Sergeeveich Migirenko (born 1916), Russian physicist | MPC · 5016 |
5017 Tenchi | 1977 DS2 | Emperor Tenji (626β671), Japan | MPC · 5017 |
5018 Tenmu | 1977 DY8 | Emperor Temmu (c. 631β686), Japan | MPC · 5018 |
5019 Erfjord | 1979 MS6 | Erfjord, village in Norway | JPL · 5019 |
5020 Asimov | 1981 EX19 | Isaac Asimov (1920β1992), Russian-American science fiction writer | MPC · 5020 |
5021 Krylania | 1982 VK12 | Anna Kapitsa (born 1903) nΓ©e Krylova, daughter of mathematician Aleksey Krylov and wife of physicist Pyotr Kapitsa | MPC · 5021 |
5022 Roccapalumba | 1984 HE1 | Roccapalumba, a village in Sicily, Italy | JPL · 5022 |
5023 Agapenor | 1985 TG3 | Agapenor, mythical person related to Trojan War | MPC · 5023 |
5024 Bechmann | 1985 VP | Poul Bechmann is the former head of the mechanical workshop at the Brorfelde Observatory, Denmark | JPL · 5024 |
5025 Mecisteus | 1986 TS6 | Mecisteus from Greek mythology, who carried the wounded Teucer and Hypsenor off the battlefield. Mecisteus and his father Echius were killed by Polydamas while defending the Greek ships. | IAU · 5025 |
5026 Martes | 1987 QL1 | Animal species pine marten (Martes martes) and beech marten (Martes foina) living on Klet Mountain, Czech Republic, where the Klet Observatory is located | MPC · 5026 |
5027 Androgeos | 1988 BX1 | Androgeos, mythical person related to Trojan War | MPC · 5027 |
5028 Halaesus | 1988 BY1 | Halaesus, mythological Greek warrior | MPC · 5028 |
5029 Ireland | 1988 BL2 | Named for the country of Ireland | MPC · 5029 |
5030 Gyldenkerne | 1988 VK4 | Kjeld Gyldenkerne (1919β1999), Danish astronomer | JPL · 5030 |
5031 Ε vejcar | 1990 FW1 | Josef Ε vejcar (1897β19XX), Czech physician | MPC · 5031 |
5032 Conradhirsh | 1990 OO | Conrad W. Hirsh (1941β1999), teacher and explorer | JPL · 5032 |
5033 Mistral | 1990 PF | FrΓ©dΓ©ric Mistral (1830β1914), French writer and Nobel Prize laureate | MPC · 5033 |
5034 Joeharrington | 1991 PW10 | Joseph Harrington (born 1967), American planetary scientist at Cornell University, New York | JPL · 5034 |
5035 Swift | 1991 UX | Lewis A. Swift (1820β1913), American astronomer and comet hunter | MPC · 5035 |
5036 Tuttle | 1991 US2 | Horace P. Tuttle (1837β1923), American astronomer and American Civil War veteran | MPC · 5036 |
5037 Habing | 6552 P-L | Harm Jan Habing (born 1937), Dutch astronomer and professor at Leiden University | MPC · 5037 |
5038 Overbeek | 1948 KF | Daniel Overbeek (born 1920), South African amateur astronomer and past president of ASSA | JPL · 5038 |
5039 Rosenkavalier | 1967 GM1 | Richard Strauss (1864β1949), German composer of opera, notably Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) | MPC · 5039 |
5040 Rabinowitz | 1972 RF | David Rabinowitz, American astronomer at Spacewatch and a discoverer of minor planets himself | MPC · 5040 |
5041 Theotes | 1973 SW1 | Theotes, mythical person related to Trojan War | MPC · 5041 |
5042 Colpa | 1974 ME | "Colpa", the Huarpe word for stones that are composed of "pure minerals". These indigenous people lived in San Juan province of Argentina, where the discovering FΓ©lix Aguilar Observatory is located | JPL · 5042 |
5043 Zadornov | 1974 SB5 | Mikhail Zadornov, Russian comedian β | JPL · 5043 |
5044 Shestaka | 1977 QH4 | Ivan Sofronovich Shestaka (1937β1994), chief researcher of comets and meteors at the astronomical observatory of Odessa University, Russia | MPC · 5044 |
5045 Hoyin | 1978 UL2 | Yin Ho (1908β1983), Chinese philanthropist from Macau | JPL · 5045 |
5046 Carletonmoore | 1981 DQ | Carleton Bryant Moore (born 1932) professor of chemistry and geology of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University | JPL · 5046 |
5047 Zanda | 1981 EO42 | Brigitte Zanda (born 1958), a meteorite curator at the MusΓ©um National dΒ΄Histoire Naturelle de Paris and an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers University | JPL · 5047 |
5048 Moriarty | 1981 GC | Professor Moriarty, character in the Sherlock Holmes stories | MPC · 5048 |
5049 Sherlock | 1981 VC1 | Sherlock Holmes, fictional detective | MPC · 5049 |
5050 Doctorwatson | 1983 RD2 | Dr. Watson, character in the Sherlock Holmes stories | MPC · 5050 |
5051 Ralph | 1984 SM | Ralph Florentin Nielsen (1942β1995) was head of the electronics laboratory at the Brorfelde Observatory, Denmark | JPL · 5051 |
5052 Nancyruth | 1984 UT3 | Nancy R. Lebofsky, American educator | MPC · 5052 |
5053 Chladni | 1985 FB2 | Ernst Chladni (1756β1827), German physicist and musician | MPC · 5053 |
5054 Keil | 1986 AO2 | Klaus Keil (born 1934), American meteoriticist at University of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology | MPC · 5054 |
5055 Opekushin | 1986 PB5 | Aleksandr Mikhailovich Opekushin (1838β1923), Russian sculptor | MPC · 5055 |
5056 Rahua | 1986 RQ5 | Rahua, wife of one of the four sons of Pirua Wiracocha, creator god of civilization in Inca mythology | JPL · 5056 |
5057 Weeks | 1987 DC6 | Eric R. Weeks (born 1970), a professor in the Physics Department at Emory University | JPL · 5057 |
5058 Tarrega | 1987 OM | Francisco TΓ‘rrega, Spanish classical guitarist-composer | MPC · 5058 |
5059 Saroma | 1988 AF | Lake Saroma, Hokkaido, Japan | MPC · 5059 |
5060 Yoneta | 1988 BO5 | Katsuhiko Yoneta (1904β1957), Japanese engineer and a graduate of Hokkaido University | MPC · 5060 |
5061 McIntosh | 1988 DJ | Bruce A. McIntosh, Canadian astronomer | JPL · 5061 |
5062 Glennmiller | 1989 CZ | Glenn Miller, American jazz musician and bandleader of the swing era | JPL · 5062 |
5063 Monteverdi | 1989 CJ5 | Claudio Monteverdi (1567β1643), Italian composer and Catholic priest | MPC · 5063 |
5064 Tanchozuru | 1990 FS | Tancho, Japanese crane | MPC · 5064 |
5065 Johnstone | 1990 FP1 | Paul Johnstone (died 1976), the first director and producer of The Sky at Night, a British documentary television programme on astronomy | MPC · 5065 |
5066 Garradd | 1990 MA | Gordon J. Garradd (born 1959), Australian amateur astronomer and photographer | MPC · 5066 |
5067 Occidental | 1990 OX | Occidental College, located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States | MPC · 5067 |
5068 Cragg | 1990 TC | Thomas A. Cragg, an American amateur astronomer | MPC · 5068 |
5069 Tokeidai | 1991 QB | Sapporo Tokeidai, Japan | MPC · 5069 |
5070 Arai | 1991 XT | Arai Ikunosuke, Japanese from Bakumatsu to Meiji | MPC · 5070 |
5071 Schoenmaker | 3099 T-2 | Anton A. Schoenmaker, Dutch technical officer at the Leiden Observatory | MPC · 5071 |
5072 Hioki | 1931 TS1 | Tsutomu Hioki, Japanese astronomer | MPC · 5072 |
5073 Junttura | 1943 EN | "Junttura" embodies the Finnish mentality to get things done, stubbornly and at all costs | JPL · 5073 |
5074 Goetzoertel | 1949 QQ1 | Goetz Oertel, American physicist and chairman of AURA | JPL · 5074 |
5075 Goryachev | 1969 TN4 | Nikolaj Nikanorovich Goryachev (1883β1940), Russian professor of astronomy at Tomsk University | JPL · 5075 |
5076 Lebedev-Kumach | 1973 SG4 | Vasily Lebedev-Kumach (1898β1949), Soviet and Russian poet and songwriter | MPC · 5076 |
5077 Favaloro | 1974 MG | RenΓ© Favaloro, Argentine cardiologist (1923β2000), creator of the bypass coronary surgery | JPL · 5077 |
5078 Solovjev-Sedoj | 1974 SW | Vasilij Pavlovich Solovjev-Sedoj (1907β1979), Russian composer | MPC · 5078 |
5079 Brubeck | 1975 DB | Dave Brubeck (1920β2012), American jazz pianist and composer | JPL · 5079 |
5080 Oja | 1976 EB | Tarmo Oja, Swedish astronomer | MPC · 5080 |
5081 Sanguin | 1976 WC1 | Juan Sanguin (1933β2006) was an Argentinian astronomer who was in charge of the minor planet and comet programs at the El Leoncito Station for more than a quarter of a century | JPL · 5081 |
5082 Nihonsyoki | 1977 DN4 | Nihon Shoki, the first written history of Japan, compiled in the 8th century | MPC · 5082 |
5083 Irinara | 1977 EV | Irina Evgen'evna Raksha, Russian writer and friend of the discoverer Nikolai Chernykh | MPC · 5083 |
5084 Gnedin | 1977 FN1 | Yurij Nikolaevich Gnedin (born 1935), Russian astrophysicist | MPC · 5084 |
5085 Hippocrene | 1977 NN | Hippocrene, mythological Greek fountain | MPC · 5085 |
5086 Demin | 1978 RH1 | Vladimir Grigor'evich Demin (1929β1996), Russian professor at Moscow University and expert on celestial mechanics and dynamics of rigid bodies | MPC · 5086 |
5087 EmelΚΉyanov | 1978 RM2 | Nikolai Vladimirovich EmelΚΉyanov (born 1946), Russian astronomer head of the Celestial Mechanics Department of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in Moscow | MPC · 5087 |
5088 Tancredi | 1979 QZ1 | Gonzalo Tancredi, Uruguayan astronomer | MPC · 5088 |
5089 NΓ‘dhernΓ‘ | 1979 SN | Sidonie NΓ‘dhernΓ‘ (1885β1950), Czech-British writer | JPL · 5089 |
5090 Wyeth | 1980 CG | Stuart Wyeth, American donor of the Wyeth 1.5-meter telescope at Harvard Observatory | MPC · 5090 |
5091 Isakovskij | 1981 SD4 | Mikhail Vasil'evich Isakovskii (1900β1973), Russian poet | MPC · 5091 |
5092 Manara | 1982 FJ | Alessandro Manara, astronomer at Brera Astronomical Observatory in Milan, Italy | MPC · 5092 |
5093 Svirelia | 1982 TG1 | Elsa Gustavovna Sviridova, the wife of Russian composer Georgy Sviridov | MPC · 5093 |
5094 Seryozha | 1982 UT6 | Sergey Kapitsa (1928β2012), Russian physicist | MPC · 5094 |
5095 Escalante | 1983 NL | Jaime Escalante (1930β2010), Bolivian-born mathematics teacher | MPC · 5095 |
5096 Luzin | 1983 RC5 | Nikolai Nikolaevich Luzin, Russian mathematician | MPC · 5096 |
5097 Axford | 1983 TW1 | Ian Axford (1933β2010), New Zealand-born astrophysicist and longtime director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research | MPC · 5097 |
5098 Tomsolomon | 1985 CH2 | Tom Solomon (born 1962) holds a Presidential Professorship in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Bucknell University | JPL · 5098 |
5099 Iainbanks | 1985 DY1 | Iain M. Banks (1954β2013), a Scottish writer | JPL · 5099 |
5100 Pasachoff | 1985 GW | Jay Myron Pasachoff (1943β2022), Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy, Williams College, United States | MPC · 5100 |
5101β5200β»
5201β5300β»
5301β5400β»
5401β5500β»
5501β5600β»
5601β5700β»
5701β5800β»
5801β5900β»
5901β6000β»
- ^ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "JPL β Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names β Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003β2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
- ^ "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry β When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Minor Planet Naming Guidelines (Rules and Guidelines for naming non-cometary small Solar-System bodies) β v1.0" (PDF). Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (PDF). 20 December 2021.
- ^ Src
- ^ "Star of science appointed Astronomer-at-large | Ministers for the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources".
- ^ Frank & Kikuchi Brinkley (1912). A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. Library of Alexandria. p. 529. ISBN 978-1-4655-1304-5.
Preceded by | Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 5,001β6,000 |
Succeeded by |
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