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]
201001–201100
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201019 Oliverwhite | 2002 CZ257 | Oliver L. White (born 1984), a research scientist at the NASA SETI Institute who worked for the New Horizons mission to Pluto as a science team post-doctoral researcher for geophysics investigations | JPL · 201019 |
| 201023 Karlwhittenburg | 2002 CZ264 | Karl E. Whittenburg (born 1966), a mission operations engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory who worked for the New Horizons mission to Pluto as the Deputy Mission Operations Manager | JPL · 201023 |
201101–201200
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
201201–201300
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201204 Stevewilliams | 2002 PZ148 | Stephen P. Williams (born 1953), a software engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory who worked for the New Horizons mission to Pluto as the Command and Data Handling Engineering Lead | JPL · 201204 |
201301–201400
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201308 Hansgrade | 2002 TK69 | Hans Grade (1879–1946), a German aviation pioneer and founder of the first German flight school | JPL · 201308 |
| 201372 Sheldon | 2002 TY349 | Erin Sheldon (born 1974), an American astronomer with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey | JPL · 201372 |
201401–201500
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201497 Marcelroche | 2003 JT17 | Marcel Roche (1920–2003), a Venezuela physician, scientist and scientific leader | JPL · 201497 |
201501–201600
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
201601–201700
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
201701–201800
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201751 Steinhardt | 2003 UZ314 | Charles Steinhardt (born 1981), an American astronomer and a contributor to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey | JPL · 201751 |
| 201777 Deronda | 2003 WE98 | Deronda Mayes (born 1957), assistant astronomer at Table Mountain Observatory in California, who operates the 0.4-meter telescope. She is in charge of observatory procurement needs, as well as all annual telescope operational safety reviews, along with TMO property accountability. She is credited with the discovery of asteroid (326975). | JPL · 201777 |
201801–201900
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
201901–202000
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
References
- ^ "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 – 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 – Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. 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 – 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) – v1.0" (PDF). Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (PDF). 20 December 2021.
This page was last edited on 12 November 2023, at 15:11