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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55082 Xlendi | 2001 QJ110 | Xlendi,Gozo,Malta† | MPC · 55082 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55108 Beamueller | 2001 QU142 | Beatrice E. A. Mueller, American astronomer | JPL · 55108 |
| 55112 Mariangela | 2001 QQ153 | Maria Angels Gassol i Avante, wife of the discoverer | JPL · 55112 |
| 55196 Marchini | 2001 RM16 | Alessandro Marchini, Italian computer scientist, astronomy popularizer, and director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Siena | JPL · 55196 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55212 Yukitoayatsuji | 2001 RG46 | Yukito Ayatsuji is the pen name of Naoyuki Uchida (born 1960), a Japanese writer of horror and mystery. He is one of the founders of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He was one of the two winners of the 1992 Mystery Writers of Japan Award. His best-known works areThe Decagon House Murders and (manga). | JPL · 55212 |
| 55221 Nancynoblitt | 2001 RM63 | Nancy Noblitt (born 1951), a friend and loyal supporter of theRose-Hulman Observatory, in Terre Haute, Indiana, where this asteroid was discovered. | JPL · 55221 |
| 55222 Makotoshinkai | 2001 RP63 | Makoto Shinkai, born Makoto Niitsu (born 1973), is a Japanese author, manga artist, cinematographer, director and producer. His anime credits include5 Centimeters per Second,The Garden of Words,Your Name,Weathering With You andSuzume. | JPL · 55222 |
| 55223 Akiraifukube | 2001 RQ63 | Akira Ifukube (1914–2006) was a Japanese composer of film scores and classical music. He is best known for the music for the 1954 movieGojira, also known in the West asGodzilla. | JPL · 55223 |
| 55276 Kenlarner | 2001 SK10 | Ken Larner (born 1938), husband of Nancy (born 1943), an American exploration geophysicist with a distinguished career atWestern Geophysical, an international oil exploration company, and theColorado School of Mines, a public research University, where he directs the Center for Wave Phenomena (Src). | MPC · 55276 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55319 Takanashi | 2001 SK73 | Yasuharu Takanashi (born 1963) is a composer of music for video games and anime. Some of the films he has produced scores for includeShiki,Ikki Tousen,Naruto Shippuden,Fairy Tail andSailor Moon Crystal. | JPL · 55319 |
| 55320 Busler | 2001 SL73 | William J. Busler (born 1944) has had a long and distinguished career as a researcher and teacher in the field of biochemistry. He has also been a planetarium director and has had a lifelong love for teaching fellow amateur astronomers about the universe. | JPL · 55320 |
| 55330 Shekwaihung | 2001 SD114 | Shekwaihung (born 1991), gymnast who won gold in the vault event at the 2014 Asian Games. | JPL · 55330 |
| 55331 Putzi | 2001 SY115 | Antonie ("Putzi") T. Schwartz, American mother, artist and holistic health practitioner | JPL · 55331 |
| 55381 Lautakwah | 2001 SX264 | Andy Lau (born 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. Lau was entered into the Guinness World Records for the `Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist' with a total unprecedented 292 awards won by year 2000. In 1999, he was also awarded the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World. | JPL · 55381 |
| 55382 Kootinlok | 2001 SS265 | Louis Koo (born 1970) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. He started his career in television and won TVB's Best Actor award in both 1999 and 2001. Koo is one of the most popular and talented actors of the Hong Kong film industry. He is also a low-key donor who had helped build close to 100 schools in China. | JPL · 55382 |
| 55383 Cheungkwokwing | 2001 SX266 | Leslie Cheung (1956–2003) was a leading Hong Kong singer and actor, with charisma comparable to James Dean. Cheung won the 1991 Hong Kong Film Award for best actor. | JPL · 55383 |
| 55384 Muiyimfong | 2001 SQ267 | Anita Mui (1963–2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made great contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honors. She remained an idol throughout most of her career, and was generally regarded as a Cantopop diva. | JPL · 55384 |
| 55397 Hackman | 2001 SY288 | Gene Hackman (1930–2025) was an American actor and novelist. He won anAcademy Award for Best Actor for the 1971 movieThe French Connection and anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1992 movieUnforgiven. With Daniel Lenihan, he has written three historical fiction novels and also two solo novels. | JPL · 55397 |
| 55399 Jasonsoderblom | 2001 SQ291 | Jason Matthew Soderblom (b. 1977), an American Research Scientist at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. | IAU · 55399 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55418 Bianciardi | 2001 TJ17 | Giorgio Bianciardi, researcher at theUniversity of Siena | JPL · 55418 |
| 55428 Cappellaro | 2001 TN47 | Enrico Cappellaro, Italian chief astronomer of theIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics) and director of theOsservatorio Astronomico di Padova (Padua Astronomical Observatory) | JPL · 55428 |
| 55477 Soroban | 2001 UC1 | Soroban, the Japanese abacus†‡ | MPC · 55477 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55543 Nemeghaire | 2001 XN16 | Jean Nemeghaire, Belgian assistant at the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, the discoverer's physics teacher | JPL · 55543 |
| 55555 DNA | 2001 YR2 | DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid | JPL · 55555 |
| 55559 Briancraine | 2001 YS110 | Brian L. Craine (born 1951) is molecular biologist, physician and inventor. He has been an active research scientist for over 45 years, and holds multiple patents for medical devices and innovative biotechnology protocols. He has also made significant contributions to the discovery and characterization of variable stars. | JPL · 55559 |
| 55561 Madenberg | 2002 AF9 | Janet A. Stevens (née Madenberg, born 1950), an American amateur astronomer anddiscoverer of minor planets who started a loaner telescope program in 1984 to introduce novices to telescopic observing. She co-edited Northern Lights from 1990 to 1998 and was executive secretary of the Astronomical League from 1995 to 2001. She directs theDesert Moon Observatory together with her husbandBerton L. Stevens | MPC · 55561 |
| 55576 Amycus | 2002 GB10 | ThecentaurAmycus, son ofOphion, who attendedPirithous' wedding, fought against theLapiths, and was killed byPelates of Pella | JPL · 55576 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55676 Klythios | 3034 T-1 | Klythios (Clytius), one of the Elders ofTroy (Iliad, Book III) | JPL · 55676 |
| 55678 Lampos | 3291 T-1 | Lampos or Lampus, son ofLaomedon, one of the Elders of the city ofTroy, father ofDolops | JPL · 55678 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55701 Ukalegon | 1193 T-3 | Ucalegon, from Greek mythology, one of the Elders ofTroy, whose house was set on fire by theAchaeans when they sacked the city | JPL · 55701 |
| 55702 Thymoitos | 1302 T-3 | Thymoetes (Thymoitos), from Greek mythology, son of Laomedon, one of the Elders of the city ofTroy, and the first to urge that theTrojan Horse be brought into the city | JPL · 55702 |
| 55720 Daandehoop | 1972 RE | Daniël "Daan" de Hoop (born 1945), honorary member and chairman of theDutch Association for Spaceflight (1995–2005). He made many valuable contributions to the public understanding of spaceflight and space exploration. | JPL · 55720 |
| 55733 Lepsius | 1986 WS2 | Karl Richard Lepsius (1810–1884), a German egyptologist who studied the monuments, pyramids and mastabas of the Old Kingdom (c. 2686-c. 2160 BC) in Egypt and Sudan. He did much to catalogue archaeological remains and to establish a chronology for Egyptian history. | JPL · 55733 |
| 55735 Magdeburg | 1987 QV | The German city ofMagdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt. It was first recorded in 805 and is situated on the Elbe river. Magdeburg became important under emperor Otto I, who founded a cathedral there. | JPL · 55735 |
| 55737 Coquimbo | 1988 CQ1 | The Chilean city ofCoquimbo, the capital of the Elqui province, located on the Pan American Highway. The natural harbor in Coquimbo was taken over by Pedro de Valdivia in 1550, together with the gold and copper industry in the region. | JPL · 55737 |
| 55749 Eulenspiegel | 1991 AT2 | Till Eulenspiegel, a folklore character of Middle Low German oral tradition who lived in the fourteenth century in northern Germany. Many odd anecdotes, tricks and jests are connected with him. They became the source of numerous folk and literary tales translated into several languages. | JPL · 55749 |
| 55753 Raman | 1991 RF5 | C. V. Raman (1888–1970), an Indian physicist who showed the inelastic scattering of photons traversing a material. For his discovery of the so-calledRaman scattering he received the1930 Nobel Prize in physics. TheRaman spectroscopy helps to study atomic and complicated molecular structures. | JPL · 55753 |
| 55755 Blythe | 1991 TB15 | Blythe Andra Lowe, a Canadian geologist and wife of amateur astronomerAndrew Lowe who discovered this minor planet | MPC · 55755 |
| 55759 Erdmannsdorff | 1991 XJ1 | Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff (1736–1800), German architect and representative of the German early Classical style. He built the Wörlitz and Dessau castles of the principality of Anhalt. He also participated in the interior design of Prussian residences in Berlin and Potsdam (Sanssouci). | JPL · 55759 |
| 55772 Loder | 1992 YB5 | Justus Christian Loder (1753–1832) was one of the most distinguished German anatomists of his time and wrote several textbooks. He founded the first maternity hospital in Jena. He maintained close relations with Goethe. | JPL · 55772 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55810 Fabiofazio | 1994 TC | Fabio Fazio (born 1964) an Italian public service broadcaster atRAI who debuted in October 1983. Beginning in 2003 he has been conducting a talk show with scientists, writers and other celebrities. | JPL · 55810 |
| 55815 Melindakim | 1994 YU2 | Melinda Kim Dowling (née Steel, born 1958), younger sister ofDuncan Steel who discovered this minor planet. A businesswoman who lives in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, she has been very supportive of the discoverer's career. | JPL · 55815 |
| 55838 Hagongda | 1996 LN | TheHarbin Institute of Technology, a key national university inChina. Founded in 1920, it is prestigious in astronautics and other high-technology fields. This multi-disciplinary excellence has enabled it to make significant contributions in Chinese space programs. | JPL · 55838 |
| 55844 Bičák | 1996 RN2 | Jiří Bičák (born 1942), a Czech professor of theoretical physics at Charles University in Prague. His expertise includes several topics in classical and quantum theory of general relativity, as well as their applications in astrophysics. The name was suggested by D. Vokrouhlický. | JPL · 55844 |
| 55845 Marco | 1996 RO2 | Marco Colombini (born 1990), an Economics and Commerce graduate of the University of Modena, is employed at a metalworking company. He is the third son of one of co-discoverers of this minor planet. | IAU · 55845 |
| 55854 Stoppani | 1996 VS1 | Eugenio Stoppani (1850–1917) who erected a mountain refuge in 1905, which is now the site of theSormano Astronomical Observatory, in the place where his father Edoardo Stoppani (1818–1892) died accidentally.Antonio Stoppani (1824–1891) (probably a distant relative) was a distinguished paleontologist. | JPL · 55854 |
| 55863 Jeffwayne | 1997 OM2 | Jeff Wayne (born 1943), American composer, musician and lyricist. | JPL · 55863 |
| 55873 Shiomidake | 1997 UP7 | Shiomidake, a mountain in northern Shizuoka, Japan, about 3047 meters high. | JPL · 55873 |
| 55874 Brlka | 1997 UL9 | Petr Brlka (1945–1966), a Czech amateur astronomer, was a member since 1959 and from 1963 the chairman of the Meteor Observers Group in Brno. A student of mathematics and physics in Brno University, he died in an avalanche in the Vysoke Tatry Mountains in Slovakia. | MPC · 55874 |
| 55875 Hirohatagaoka | 1997 VH | Hirohatagaoka, a hill on which is located Hadano High School, from which the discoverer graduated (img) | MPC · 55875 |
| 55892 Fuzhougezhi | 1997 XQ5 | TheFuzhou Gezhi High School (Ge Zhi means "Science") in China has made outstanding contributions to national education in China during the 160 years since its foundation in 1846. | JPL · 55892 |
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55901 Xuaoao | 1998 CL2 | Xu Aoao [zh] (born 1940) is a solar-physics astronomer and educator. As Vice President of Nanjing University and President of the Macau University of Science and Technology, he made significant contributions to promoting the education and research of the universities. | JPL · 55901 |
| 56000 Mesopotamia | 1998 SN144 | Mesopotamia, cradle of human civilization | JPL · 56000 |
| Preceded by | Meanings of minor-planet names List of minor planets: 55,001–56,000 | Succeeded by |
