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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49036 Pelion | 1998 QM107 | Pelion, a mountain in Thessaly in central Greece, where the Centaurs were said to live | JPL · 49036 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49106 Janry | 1998 SY | Jean-Richard "Janry" Geurts, Belgian comics artist and amateur astronomer | IAU · 49106 |
| 49108 Gouttesolard | 1998 SQ1 | Michel Gouttesolard (b. 1958), a French amateur astronomer. | IAU · 49108 |
| 49109 Agnesraab | 1998 SO2 | Agnes Raab (born 1969), Austrian amateur astronomer, long-time member of the Astronomical Society of Linz (German:Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft). The first prediscovery image of this asteroid was found on a plate exposed on her eighth birthday. She is married toHerbert Raab, also an amateur astronomer anddiscoverer of minor planets (Src). | JPL · 49109 |
| 49110 Květafialová | 1998 SU2 | Květa Fialová (born 1929) is a well-known actress in Czech-Slovak cinematography and theatre, who has been active for almost 70 years | JPL · 49110 |
| 49118 Sergerochain | 1998 SL10 | Serge Rochain (b. 1942), a French computer engineer and amateur astronomer. | IAU · 49118 |
| 49187 Zucchini | 1998 SY75 | Roberto Zucchini (born 1958) is an Italian theoretical physicist who teaches theoretical physics and mathematical methods at the Bologna University. His interests reside in the mathematical physics concerning theories of quantum gravity, strings and branes. | JPL · 49187 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49265 Raphaeljimenez | 1998 UM3 | Raphael Jimenez (b. 1950), also known as Jimmy, is a technician of the Pic du Midi Observatory. | IAU49265 |
| 49272 Bryce Canyon | 1998 UT16 | Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, home of some of the darkest night skies in the continental United States | JPL · 49272 |
| 49291 Thechills | 1998 VJ | The Chills are a New Zealand rock band formed in Dunedin in 1980. Images of this asteroid, taken by its discovererIan P. Griffin, were shown on the release of the band's new single"Rocket Science/Lost In Space". | IAU · 49291 |
| 49294 Jacqclairnoëns | 1998 VG2 | Jacques-Clair Noëns (b. 1945), a French astronomer at Pic-du-Midi Observatory. | IAU49294 |
| 49296 Lucdettwiller | 1998 VD3 | Luc Dettwiller (b. 1958), a French physicist and professor at Chaires Supérieures. | IAU49296 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49350 Katheynix | 1998 WQ8 | Kathey Nix (1953–2003), an American amateur astronomer, manager of theaters for the Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, and a founding member of the Society of Low-Energy Observers (SLO). Her enthusiasm and selfless dedication to amateur astronomy and to her many friends will be sorely missed. | JPL · 49350 |
| 49382 Lynnokamoto | 1998 XG5 | Lynn Okamoto (born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga and anime seriesElfen Lied. He resides in Tokyo, Japan. | JPL · 49382 |
| 49384 Hubertnaudot | 1998 XX9 | Hubert Naudot (1913–1994), a French engineer a pioneer of astronomical calculations using personal computers in the 1980s. He worked for the French Railways (SNCF) and was involved in the creation of the astronomical association of the SNCF. He also taught astronomy to children. | JPL · 49384 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49439 Jeanlouispala | 1998 YC5 | Jean-Louis Pala (b. 1950), a French mathematics teacher at the Institution Sainte Marie in Cannes. | IAU49439 |
| 49440 Kenzotange | 1998 YP5 | Kenzo Tange (1913–2005), a Japanese architect who designed many public buildings, including the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Kagawa Prefectural Office and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings. | JPL · 49440 |
| 49441 Scerbanenco | 1998 YM6 | Giorgio Scerbanenco (1911–1969) was a Ukrainian-born Italian writer, best known for his crime and detective novels. He was one of the fathers of the thriller genre in Italy. He wroteThe scandal of the astronomical observatory, a thriller which revolves around the discovery of a new asteroid. | JPL · 49441 |
| 49443 Marcobondi | 1998 YN7 | Marco Bondi (born 1963), an Italian astrophysicist who works at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Bologna, where his research activity is mainly focused on radio studies of active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies. His multiwavelength surveys are aimed at investigating the properties and cosmological evolution of the sub-millijansky population. | JPL · 49443 |
| 49448 Macocha | 1998 YJ12 | TheMacocha Gorge, a very popular visitor site in the Czech Republic. Thesinkhole is 168 meters deep and was formed in the early Pleistocene era. It is part of theMoravian Karst, a cave system created by the lost riverPunkva. | JPL · 49448 |
| 49466 Huanglin | 1999 AX8 | Huang Lin (born 1934) is an observational astrophysicist and has made significant contributions to developing the research of stellar physics at Beijing Astronomical Observatory. He shared a First Class National Science and Technology Progress Award for participating in building the first 2-meter class optical telescope in China. | JPL · 49466 |
| 49469 Emilianomazzoni | 1999 AL25 | Emiliano Mazzoni (born 1953), is an Italian amateur astronomer from Tuscany, expert telescope maker anddiscoverer of minor planets and supernovae, who founded the Monte Agliale Observatory (159). | JPL · 49469 |
| 49481 Gisellarubini | 1999 BJ12 | Gisella Rubini (born 1959), girlfriend of the Italian discovererMatteo Santangelo. She sometimes helps him at the Monte Agliale Observatory (159). | JPL · 49481 |
| 49500 Ishitoshi | 1999 CP9 | Toshihiro Ishikawa (born 1975) is a Japanese amateur astronomer and a key member of the Ota Astronomical Club. | JPL · 49500 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49501 Basso | 1999 CN10 | Antonella Basso (born 1972), a friend of the Italian discovererGianluca Masi. A lawyer by profession, she has a great passion and interest in the arts, particularly in painting and cinema. | JPL · 49501 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49698 Váchal | 1999 VA | Josef Váchal (1884–1969), a Czech artist whose specific work combined graphic art, wood carving, handmade printing, poetry and writing on the borderline of symbolism, secession and expressionism. His masterpieces include The Bloody Romance and Šumava mountains dying and romantic. | JPL · 49698 |
| 49699 Hidetakasato | 1999 VZ | Hidetaka Sato (born 1978), Japanese obstetrician and an amateur astronomer interested insmall Solar System bodies. He observes comets and unusual minor planets at the Gunma Astronomical Observatory (D80) and at the Rent-a-Scope observatories. | JPL · 49699 |
| 49700 Mather | 1999 VN1 | John C. Mather (born 1946), an American cosmologist and senior project scientist for theJames Webb Space Telescope. He led the team that constructed theCosmic Background Explorer (COBE). For his role in mapping microwave radiation and understanding the early Universe he received the2006 Nobel prize in physics. | JPL · 49700 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49702 Koikeda | 1999 VC2 | Chuzo Koikeda (born 1928), a Japanese amateur astronomer, was president of "Kanazawa hoshinokai", an astronomy club in Kanazawa, from 1962 to 2002. His wife Yoko Koikeda (born 1932), also an amateur astronomer, is a serious observer of the Sun, solar eclipses and aurorae. | JPL · 49702 |
| 49777 Cappi | 1999 XS | Margaret Capitola Sonntag Comba (born 1940), second wife of American amateur astronomerPaul G. Comba, who discovered this minor planet. She is a psychologist and art therapist by profession and a faculty member at Prescott College. | JPL · 49777 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49987 Bonata | 2000 AB5 | Diego Bonata (born 1968), an Italian aerospace engineer who has promoted laws for the control of light pollution and energy saving through the Cielobuio Association, of which he is president. At the Carl Sagan Observatory in Brignano Gera d´Adda he has developed new environmentally compatible technologies for lighting engineering. | JPL · 49987 |
| 50000 Quaoar | 2002 LM60 | Quaoar, a creation deity inTongva mythology. The Tongva are the indigenous people of the Los Angeles basin. Quaoar has no form or gender and dances and sings Weywot, Sky Father, into existence. Together, they create Chehooit, Earth Mother, and the trio bring Tamit, Grandfather Sun, to life. | JPL · 50000 |
| Preceded by | Meanings of minor-planet names List of minor planets: 49,001–50,000 | Succeeded by |
