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.
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]
Christopher Houghten (born 1963), from Rutland, Vermont, who developed a non-computer-based system to allow manually operated telescopes to be GOTO telescopes
Frank Zizza, American associate professor of mathematics at the University of Arizona South and past president of the Huachuca Astronomy Club. He is credited with originating the idea of establishing an astronomical observatory on the university's campus in Sierra Vista.
Karel Juza (1952–1994) was a Czech stellar astronomer who worked at the observatories in Valašské Meziříčí, Tatranská Lomnica, Skalnaté Pleso and Ondřejov. His studies concentrated on the eclipsing binary AR Aur and Be-stars. He died prematurely, just before finishing his Ph.D. thesis.
Takashi Nishioka (born 1936) contributed to the promotion and development of Japan's aerospace industry, such as leading the domestic production of commercial aircraft and initiating the privatization of rocket launch services. He is the chairman of the Japan Space Forum.
Liam Groah (born 2005) is the grandson of NEAT Principal Investigator Raymond Bambery; the object was named in honor of his 18th birthday and graduation from high school.
Gary W. Kronk (born 1956) is an American amateur astronomer, programer-analyst and writer who was so inspired by comet C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek) as a teenager that he began a quest to catalogue every comet recorded in human history. Volume One (Ancient Comets to 1799) of his four-part Cometography was published in 1999.
Georg Dehio (1850–1932), German art historian who published the fundamental works The Church Architecture of the Occident (1884–1901), Handbook of the Monuments of German Art (1900–1912) and History of the German Arts (1919–1926). The handbook Dehio became a guide essential to amateurs.
Carmelita Miranda (born 1950), American astronomy popularizer who developed a love of astronomy while sailing the Pacific. She focused this passion into writing and presenting night-sky programs to over 25~000 children using a portable planetarium. She also demonstrated solar observations.
Hugo Schrade (1900–1974), German optical engineer, employed by the firm Carl Zeiss Jena from 1929, became the highly esteemed head works manager during 1945–1966.
Sabrina Maricia Cohen (born 2005), daughter of American co-discoverer Seth M. Cohen. They have enjoyed many Palomar College planetarium visits together and now she can be part of the show.
New Zealander Wayne Orchistron (born 1943) works as an astronomer at the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand. His main interests lie in the field of history of astronomy. He is the author of many books and the co-founder and editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.
Ute Wielen (born 1934) has worked in astronomy for more than 50 years. She was an assistant observer at the Babelsberg Observatory. She later worked as a programmer at astronomical institutes in Berlin and Heidelberg, and is the coauthor of many books on the history of astronomy.
Baron Ferdinand von Wrange (1797–1870), a Baltic German explorer and one of the founders of the Russian Geographic Society. He studied glaciology, geomagnetics and climatology. Noticing swarms of birds flying northward from near the Kolyma river, he correctly deduced that there must be an island in the Arctic Ocean.
Hawaii, the Aloha State, was first visited by Polynesians from Tahiti, rediscovered by James Cook, and in 1959 became the fiftieth U.S. state. Hawaii became a sister state of Ehime prefecture
Rudolf Alexander Schröder (1878–1962), German architect, poet, essayist, and translator. The complete edition of his work contains eight volumes, including numerous collections of verse. He revived the Protestant chorale and is cofounder of the "Insel-Verlag".
Yamagata Tenmondai (Yamagata Astronomical Observatory), was established for educational purposes by the Yamagata University in 2003, using a 0.15-m refractor and a 3D astronomy theater.
Jianli County, located in the south of Jianghan plain, has a long history and splendid culture, including many relics from the period of the Three Kingdoms of China.
Anton Zeilinger (born 1945), Austrian professor of physics. He is a much-honored professor of experimental physics in Innsbruck and Vienna, decorated by the "pour le mérite" for sciences and arts. Well known for his contributions to quantum physics, in 1997 he succeeded in the first teleportation of information on quantum level.
Roberto Balbinot (born 1956) is an Italian theoretical physicist who teaches General Relativity at the Bologna University. His fields of research include acoustic black holes, quantum gravity, and field and string theories.
Ann C. Gower, a Canadian radio-astronomer and associate professor of astronomy at the University of Victoria. She is a gifted teacher who takes a special interest in every student in her classes, and an active member of the UVic Speakers Bureau, sharing with others her knowledge of galaxies and quasars.
Tereza Stolzová (1834–1902), was a Czech coloratura soprano and soloist for the Teatro la Scala in Milano. She belongs among the greatest singers of Verdi's works in the nineteenth century and created the title role on the European first night of Aida in 1872.
Tashikuergan (meaning "Stone City") is an ancient city along the Silk Road at the western end in China. It is located on Pamir Plateau on the northern side of Kashi area, Xinjiang province, and it has been the only Tajik Autonomous County since 1954.
Josef Penninger (born 1964), Austrian director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has been honored by various university chairs and numerous awards. He was chosen by the magazine Esquire as one of the ten most interesting people of the year 2000.
Alessandro Mazzanti (born 1964), an Italian amateur astronomer and observer of near-Earth objects as well as the president of the astronomy club at Montelupo (Italian: Gruppo Astrofili Montelupo) since 2020.
Agnès Acker (born 1940) is a French astrophysicist whose research focuses on planetary nebulae, binarity of nuclei and stellar winds. She is professor emeritus of the University of Strasbourg and founder of the Strasbourg Planetarium, which she directed for 22 years.
Jon Anderson (born 1944) is one of the founders of the progressive rock band Yes. He has also recorded many solo albums and collaborated with many musicians, including Vangelis and Mike Oldfield. His alto tenor voice is one of the most recognizable in the prog rock scene.
REXIS, the Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer aboard the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, is the result of the work of over 100 students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University who conceived, designed, implemented, and operated it at the asteroid (101955) Bennu.
Mária Kočanová (1890–1976) was a Slovak writer, novelist and dramatist. She drew themes from contemporary life, European and world history or Bible stories. Her manuscripts are kept in a museum in Prešov.
