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]
279001–279100
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279035 Mara | 2008 VX4 | Mara Ruiz (born 2000), the daughter of Spanish co-discoverer Jose Maria Ruiz (currently not credited by the Minor Planet Center). | JPL · 279035 |
| 279037 Utezimmer | 2008 VU13 | Ute Zimmer (born 1964) is a German amateur astronomer who started her work in 2007 at the Taunus Observatory in Frankfurt am Main. She has discovered numerous minor planets, including the Apollo-type object 2009 DM45. | IAU · 279037 |
279101–279200
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279119 Khamatova | 2009 OY1 | Chulpan Khamatova (born 1975), a Russian theater and film actress | JPL · 279119 |
279201–279300
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279226 Demisroussos | 2009 UR103 | Demis Roussos (1946–2015), a Greek singer and performer, best remembered for being a member of Aphrodite's Child, a rock band that also included Greek musician Vangelis | JPL · 279226 |
| 279274 Shurpakov | 2009 WL8 | Sergey Shurpakov (born 1966), a Belarusian amateur astronomer, observer of comets and discoverer of minor planets and coordinator of the "International Comet Quarterly" (ICQ) for Belarus | JPL · 279274 |
279301–279400
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279377 Lechmankiewicz | 2010 CH1 | Lech Mankiewicz (born 1960), a director of the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. | JPL · 279377 |
| 279397 Dombeck | 2010 DN77 | Thomas W. Dombeck (1945–2016) received his Physics PhD from Northwestern University. He displayed his creative genius as professor, research scientist, project director for Pan-STARRS, husband and father. | JPL · 279397 |
279401–279500
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279410 McCallon | 2010 EF144 | Howard McCallon (born 1945), an American engineer. | JPL · 279410 |
279501–279600
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
279601–279700
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
279701–279800
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 279723 Wittenberg | 1991 RM3 | Wittenberg, a town situated in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was starting point of the Reformation, where Martin Luther posted his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. | JPL · 279723 |
279801–279900
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
279901–280000
| 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 19 November 2023, at 11:55