Asminor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by theIAU'sMinor Planet Center (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU'snaming 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 namedsmall Solar System bodies are approved and published in a bulletin by IAU'sWorking Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN).[1] Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC'sMinor Planet Circulars for many decades.[2] Recent citations can also be found on theJPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).[3] Until his death in 2016, German astronomerLutz D. Schmadel compiled these citations into theDictionary of Minor Planet Names (DMP) and regularly updated the collection.[4][5]
Based onPaul Herget'sThe 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 thepublic domain: SBDB New namings may only beadded 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]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179221 Hrvojebožić | 2001 TP244 | Hrvoje Božić (born 1954) is a Croatian astrophysicist atHvar Observatory and major contributor to the development of astronomy education in Croatia. | IAU · 179221 |
| 179223 Tonytyson | 2001 TA257 | J. Anthony Tyson (born 1940), an American physicist and astronomer, who discovered distant, faint blue galaxies using CCDs in the 1970s. He was instrumental for the establishment of theVera C. Rubin Observatory and directed the project for 15 years (Src). | IAU · 179223 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179411 Draganroša | 2001 YM158 | Dragan Roša (b. 1958) is a solar astronomer and the director of theZagreb Observatory. He has authored a number of textbooks for astronomy and astrophysics, and is a major contributor to the development of astronomy education and popularization in Croatia. | IAU · 179411 |
| 179413 Stevekahn | 2001 YM161 | Steven Kahn (born 1954) is an American physicist andx-ray astronomer. On ESA'sXMM-Newton space observatory, he was a principal investigator for theReflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS). He was also a director of theVera C. Rubin Observatory and led the construction of its large camera. | IAU · 179413 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179593 Penglangxiaoxue | 2002 LK61 | Penglang Elementary School (simplified Chinese:蓬朗小学;traditional Chinese:蓬朗小學;pinyin:Pénglǎng Xiǎoxué) is located inKunshan City,Jiangsu Province, China. It was founded in 1906. It is located near to thePurple Mountain Observatory. | JPL · 179593 |
| 179595 Belkovich | 2002 MK4 | Oleg Belkovich (1934–2020) is recognized worldwide for his work on the radar observations of meteors | JPL · 179595 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179647 Stuartrobbins | 2002 PG152 | Stuart J. Robbins (born 1983) is a Senior Research Scientist at theSouthwest Research Institute. He served as a Science Team Planning Liaison for theNew Horizons mission toPluto. | JPL · 179647 |
| 179678 Rietmeijer | 2002 QS66 | Frans J. M. Rietmeijer (born 1949), Dutch-American planetary geologist and research professor at the University of New Mexico | JPL · 179678 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179764 Myriamsarah | 2002 SC | Myriam Ory (born 1998) and Sarah Ory (born 2000), daughters of Swiss amateur astronomerMichel Ory who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 179764 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179874 Bojanvršnak | 2002 TS315 | Bojan Vršnak (born 1957), a Croatian astrophysicist at theHvar Observatory and a professor of physics at theUniversity of Zagreb, who has published textbooks on plasma physics and contributed to astronomy education in Croatia. | IAU · 179874 |
| 179875 Budavari | 2002 TX328 | Tamas Budavari (born 1973), a Hungarian physicist with theSloan Digital Sky Survey | JPL · 179875 |
| 179876 Goranpichler | 2002 TS333 | Goran Pichler (born 1946), a Croatian physicist who contributed to the development of astronomy education and popularization in Croatia. He is also a fellow of theCroatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. | IAU · 179876 |
| 179877 Pavlovski | 2002 TK340 | Krešimir Pavlovski (born 1954) is a Croatian astrophysicist and emeritus professor at theUniversity of Zagreb, who has contributed to astronomy education in Croatia. | IAU · 179877 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179901 Romanbrajša | 2002 UA67 | Roman Brajša (b. 1963) is a leading astrophysicist at, and director of, theHvar Observatory. He is a major contributor to the development of astronomy education and astrophysics in Croatia. | IAU · 179901 |
| Preceded by | Meanings of minor-planet names List of minor planets: 179,001–180,000 | Succeeded by |
