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]
256001–256100
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
256101–256200
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
256201–256300
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
256301–256400
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256369 Vilain | 2006 YB3 | Christiane Vilain (born 1949), a retired researcher and teacher of physics and the history of physics | JPL · 256369 |
| 256374 Danielpequignot | 2006 YZ13 | Daniel Pequignot (born 1945), an astronomer at Paris Observatory | JPL · 256374 |
256401–256500
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
256501–256600
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256537 Zahn | 2007 GX4 | Jean-Paul Zahn (born 1935), a French astrophysicist, specialist in fluid dynamics and internal structure of stars | JPL · 256537 |
| 256547 Davidesmith | 2007 HA15 | David E. Smith (born 1934), a planetary scientist and principal investigator of the Mars Global Surveyor's MOLA, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LOLA, and MESSENGER's MLA instruments | JPL · 256547 |
256601–256700
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256697 Nahapetov | 2008 AZ1 | Rodion Nakhapetov (born 1944), a Ukrainian-born, Russian actor, film director, screenwriter and an awarded People's Artist of Russia | JPL · 256697 |
| 256698 Zhuzhixin | 2008 AX2 | Zhu Zhixin (1885–1920) was an activist, writer and polemicist who lived in the late Qing to early Republic of China era. The Zhixin High School in Guangzhou, founded in 1921, was established in his memory. | IAU · 256698 |
| 256699 Poudai | 2008 AZ2 | The Chinese town of Poudai, on Hainan Island | JPL · 256699 |
256701–256800
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256795 Suzyzahn | 2008 CS68 | Suzy Collin-Zahn (born 1938), a specialist of quasars and Active Nuclei of Galaxies. | JPL · 256795 |
| 256796 Almanzor | 2008 CN69 | Pico Almanzor (2592 m) in the Sierra de Gredos, the highest mountain in central Spain | JPL · 256796 |
| 256797 Benbow | 2008 CA70 | Admiral Benbow Inn, the fictional home of Jim Hawkins in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel "Treasure Island". | JPL · 256797 |
256801–256900
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256813 Marburg | 2008 CW116 | Marburg, a city in central Germany | JPL · 256813 |
| 256892 Wutayou | 2008 DW40 | Wu Ta-You (1907–2000), a Chinese atomic and nuclear theoretical physicist who introduced modern physics to China | JPL · 256892 |
256901–257000
| 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 15:13