This is a
list of minor planets
The following is a list of minor planets in ascending numerical order. Minor planets are Small Solar System bodies, small bodies in the Solar System: asteroids, Distant minor planet, distant objects, and dwarf planets, but not comets. As of 2022 ...
which have been officially named by the
Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature
In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered e ...
(WGSBN) of the
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
(IAU). The list consists of partial pages, each covering a number range of 1,000 bodies citing the source after each minor planet was named for. An overview of all existing partial pages is given in section .
Among the hundreds of thousands of
numbered minor planets only a small fraction have received a name so far. , there are
24,795 named minor planets out of a total of more than
600,000 numbered ones .
Most of these bodies are named for
people
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
, in particular astronomers, as well as figures from mythology and fiction. Many minor planets are also named after
places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Oft ...
such cities, towns, and villages, mountains and volcanoes; after
rivers
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...
, observatories, as well as organizations, clubs and astronomical societies. Some are named after animals and plants. A few minor planets are named after exotic entities such as supercomputers or have an unknown origin.
The first few thousand minor planets have all been named, with the near-Earth asteroid
(4596) 1981 QB currently being the lowest-numbered unnamed minor planet.
The first 3 pages in the below table contain 1,000 named entries each. The first 13 and 33 pages contain at least 500 and 100 named entries each, respectively. The first range to contain no entries is
307001–308000. There are also several
name conflicts with other
astronomical object
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists within the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are of ...
s, mostly with
planetary satellites and among themselves.
Following a proposal of the
discovering astronomer, new minor planet names are approved and published by IAU's WGSBN several times a year.
The WGSBN applies a set of rules for naming minor planets.
These range from syntax restrictions to non-offensive meanings. Over the years the rules have changed several times. In the beginning, for example, most minor planets were named after female characters from Greek and Roman mythology.
Index
:
'
This is an overview of all existing partial lists on the meanings of minor planets (MoMP). Each table covers 100,000 minor planets, with each cell representing a specific partial list of 1,000 sequentially numbered bodies. Grayed out cells do not yet contain any citations for the corresponding number range. For an introduction, ''see ''.
Meanings from 1 to 100,000
Meanings from 100,001 to 200,000
Meanings from 200,001 to 300,000
Meanings from 300,001 to 400,000
Meanings from 400,001 to 500,000
Meanings from 500,001 to 600,000
Meanings from 600,001 to 700,000
Meanings from 700,001 to 800,000
See also
*
List of minor planets
The following is a list of minor planets in ascending numerical order. Minor planets are Small Solar System bodies, small bodies in the Solar System: asteroids, Distant minor planet, distant objects, and dwarf planets, but not comets. As of 2022 ...
*
List of named minor planets (alphabetical)
This is a list of named minor planets in an alphabetical, case-insensitive order grouped by the first letter of their name. New namings, typically proposed by the discoverer and approved by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WG ...
*
References
External links
Asteroids discovered at the observatory of San Marcello Pistoiese in Italy
{{Portal bar, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space
*
meanings
Solar System