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.
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]
Gunaras Kakaras (born 1939) is a Lithuanian astronomer and one of the most skilled Lithuanian popularizers of astronomy. He is an expert on stellar photometry of binary stars and he wrote several popular books and many popular papers. He established theLithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology in 1990.
János Hunfalvy (1820–1888), a geographer, university professor, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and founder of Hungarian scientific geography.
Dayao County is located in the north-central Yunnan Province of China. It has a long history, rich mineral resources and good astronomical observing conditions. Dayao was ranked one of the most beautiful counties of China in 2020.
TheCape Fear High School inFayetteville, North Carolina, United States. Since 1996, dozens of its students have submitted thousands of near-Earth objects observations to theMPC.
Michael Sarcander (born 1955), German astronomer and long-time technical manager of the planetarium in Mannheim, has produced many educational shows for the general public. He has published several hundred observing tips for asteroids reaching a favorable apparition or closely approaching other celestial objects.
Sebastien Vauclair (born 1976) is a French astronomer working on high-energy astronomy. He is also a leader in dark-sky protection, especially for the dark-sky reserve known as the Reserve Internationale de Ciel Etoile du Pic du Midi, located in the Pyrenees.