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]
50001–50100
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50033 Perelman | 2000 AF48 | Grigori Perelman (born 1966), Russian mathematician | JPL · 50033 |
50101–50200
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
50201–50300
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50240 Cortina | 2000 BY3 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, holiday resort in the Dolomites, Italy, host to the 1956 Winter Olympics, and near to the Col Drusciè Observatory | JPL · 50240 |
| 50250 Daveharrington | 2000 BW22 | David L. Harrington (born 1939) is a retired automobile engineer. | JPL · 50250 |
| 50251 Iorg | 2000 BY22 | Caroll Iorg (born 1946), a most enthusiastic amateur astronomer having been President of the Astronomical League (2010–2014) and currently serving as Media Officer. | JPL · 50251 |
| 50275 Marcocasalini | 2000 CU1 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 50275 |
50301–50400
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
50401–50500
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50412 Ewen | 2000 DG1 | Harry Ewen (born 1957), a Canadian amateur astronomer | MPC · 50412 |
| 50413 Petrginz | 2000 DQ1 | Petr Ginz (1928–1944), Czech-Jewish boy who edited Vedem, a secret magazine, in the Terezín ghetto during World War II | MPC · 50413 |
| 50428 Alexanderdessler | 2000 DZ15 | Alexander J. Dessler (1928–2023) is a space physicist who shaped understanding of how charged particles interact with magnetic fields of Solar System objects. He first defined the existence and characteristics of the heliosphere, confirmed when Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause | JPL · 50428 |
50501–50600
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50553 Dilles | 2000 EL21 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 50553 |
50601–50700
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50687 Paultemple | 2000 EC117 | Paul Temple, pastor and amateur astronomer in Deming, New Mexico | JPL · 50687 |
50701–50800
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50717 Jimfox | 2000 EN138 | Jim Fox (born 1945) started in astronomy in the 1950s with a "Junior Moon-Watch Team". He is the founder of what became the Minnesota Astronomical Society as well as a past President of the Astronomical League (1990–94). He was awarded the 2014 Leslie C. Peltier Award from the AAVSO. | JPL · 50717 |
| 50718 Timrobertson | 2000 ED139 | Tim Robertson (born 1956) is a Quality Engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, with the GOES and JPSS weather satellite programs. On staff with the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), he is Coordinator for the ALPO Training Program as well as Producer of the "Observer's Notebook" podcasts. | JPL · 50718 |
| 50719 Elizabethgriffin | 2000 EG140 | Elizabeth Griffin (born 1942) is a Canadian astronomer specializing in the spectroscopic study of binary stars. She has been a staunch advocate globally for the digitization and preservation of photographic plates and using legacy science data of all kinds. | JPL · 50719 |
| 50721 Waynebailey | 2000 EU141 | Wayne Bailey (born 1942) worked in the aerospace industry supporting the Space Shuttle Spacelab program. He became the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) Lunar Coordinator in 2008 and in 2017 was the recipient of the ALPO Peggy Haas Service Award. | JPL · 50721 |
| 50722 Sherlin | 2000 EW141 | Jerry Sherlin (1944–2018) was a meteorologist for the U.S. Air Force specializing in space weather as a research assistant at Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory. He was also the 22nd President of the Astronomical League and very well known in astronomy, being a member of many professional and amateur organizations. | JPL · 50722 |
| 50723 Beckley | 2000 EG143 | Elizabeth Beckley (c. 1846–1927) was the first observer with the new photoheliograph at the Kew Observatory, London. In the 1860s, and continued for over a decade, she was using the labor-intensive ‘wet collodion’ process in solar photography for the first time. | IAU · 50723 |
| 50724 Elizabethbrown | 2000 EK145 | Elizabeth Brown (1830-1899), English astronomer, founding member of the British Astronomical Association and first director of the group's Solar Section | IAU · 50724 |
| 50725 Margarethuggins | 2000 EH146 | Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848-1915), pioneered photonic spectrography alongside her husband, William | IAU · 50725 |
| 50726 Anniemaunder | 2000 EH147 | Annie S. D. Maunder (1868-1947), Irish-English astronomer with the Greenwich Observatory, developed the butterfly diagram for solar cycles alongside husband E. Walter | IAU · 50726 |
| 50727 Aliceverett | 2000 EO147 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 50727 |
| 50728 Catherinestevens | 2000 ED148 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 50728 |
| 50729 Fiammetta | 2000 ET148 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 50729 |
| 50739 Gracecook | 2000 EY156 | A. Grace Cook (1877-1958), British astronomer and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. A skilled observer, she viewed the 1914 transit of Mercury from her observatory. | IAU · 50739 |
| 50753 Maryblagg | 2000 EO177 | Mary Adela Blagg (1858-1944), English astronomer and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. As a member of the British Astronomical Association, she helped create a standardized nomenclature for lunar formations. | IAU · 50753 |
| 50768 Ianwessen | 2000 FW2 | Ian Remington Wessen (born 1992) has excelled as an honor student in high school, spent two summers learning the Russian language and six weeks working for the Europa Jupiter System Mission team | JPL · 50768 |
50801–50900
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50855 Williamschultz | 2000 FK55 | William Schultz Jr. (1904–1975) was with the Cranbrook school system in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan from 1930 to 1969. A man of many interests (astronomy, mineralogy, ham radio), he refurbished the Cranbrook (now Hulbert) Observatory. He built their first planetarium, becoming the first Resident Astronomer. | IAU · 50855 |
| 50866 Davidesprizzi | 2000 GX3 | Davide Sprizzi (born 2013), the son of the discoverer's daughter. | JPL · 50866 |
50901–51000
| 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 25 March 2024, at 20:53