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.
Official naming citations of newly named small Solar System bodies are approved and published in a bulletin by IAU's Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN).[1] Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades.[2] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).[3] Until his death in 2016, German astronomer Lutz D. Schmadel compiled these citations into the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (DMP) and regularly updated the collection.[4][5]
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]
88001–88100 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88071 Taniguchijiro | 2000 VO59 | Taniguchi Jiro (1947–2017), a Japanese manga artist who was awarded the French ministry of Culture's Chevalier de l´Ordre des arts et des Lettres in 2011. His main works are "Chichi no koyomi" ("Le journal de mon pere"), "Bocchan no jidai" ("Au temps de Botchan") and "Harukana machi-e" ("Quartier lointain"). | JPL · 88071 |
88101–88200 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88146 Castello | 2000 WE183 | The archaeological site Castello lies on a hill in the Swiss village of Tremona. This site contains human settlements from the fifth millennium B.C. to the thirteenth century A.D | JPL · 88146 |
88201–88300 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88260 Insubria | 2001 HE23 | Regio Insubria, the old Latin name of western Lombardia, northern Italy, home of the discovery site | JPL · 88260 |
| 88292 Bora-Bora | 2001 NL6 | Bora Bora, French Polynesia. The tropical island, located 240 km northwest of Tahiti, is famed for its multicolored lagoon. Formerly Mai Te Pora ("created by the gods"), Bora Bora means "first born", because it was the first to emerge from the waters after the creation of Raiatea, some seven million years ago. | JPL · 88292 |
| 88297 Huikilolani | 2001 NP14 | "Hui Kilolani" is the Hawaiian Astronomical Society's Hawaiian name, which means "club of sky watchers" (Src). | JPL · 88297 |
88301–88400 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
88401–88500 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88470 Joaquinescrig | 2001 QB111 | Joaquín Escrig Ferrando (1945–1999) cousin and friend of Spanish discoverer Rafael Ferrando. He was an inspiration to him in his desire for living and strength in overcoming adversity. | JPL · 88470 |
88501–88600 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
88601–88700 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88611 Teharonhiawako | 2001 QT297 | Teharonhiawako, son of the granddaughter of the Great Spirit creation god, in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) creation myth, and his twin brother Sawiskera ((88611) Teharonhiawako I Sawiskera) | JPL · 88611 |
88701–88800 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88705 Potato | 2001 SV | The potato, on the occasion of the United Nations' International Year of the Potato (2008), and because many minor planets are believed to be shaped like potatoes | JPL · 88705 |
| 88795 Morvan | 2001 SW115 | Morvan massif, the northern part of the Massif Central of France | JPL · 88795 |
88801–88900 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88874 Wongshingsheuk | 2001 SV264 | Wong Shing Sheuk (born 1951) began teaching in 1974. From 1988 to his retirement in 2011, he was the principal of Po Leung Kuk Leung Chow Shan Primary School P.M. He believed that astronomy could inspire a student's interest in science and he put tremendous effort into astronomy education. | JPL · 88874 |
| 88875 Posky | 2001 SB265 | the Hong Kong Po Leung Kuk Education Department for their efforts over the past seven years in supporting student exploration of the sky. | JPL · 88875 |
| 88878 Bowenyueli | 2001 SQ266 | The motto of the Chinese University of Hong Kong is bowenyueli, which means "Through learning and temperance to virtue". These words of Confucius have long been considered a principal precept of his teaching. The university lays equal emphasis on the intellectual and moral aspects of education | JPL · 88878 |
| 88879 Sungjaoyiu | 2001 SA268 | Joseph Jao-yiu Sung (born 1959) is the vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, associate dean of the Faculty of Medicine and head of Shaw College. During the 2003 atypical pneumonia, Sung played a leading role in combating the disease and was called "Asia Hero" by Time magazine | JPL · 88879 |
88901–89000 edit
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88906 Moutier | 2001 TT1 | The Swiss village of Moutier, located in the Bernese Jura | JPL · 88906 |
| 88961 Valpertile | 2001 TH47 | Valerio Pertile (1932–2005) was a skilled and dedicated Italian astronomical technician and night assistant at the Schmidt telescope of the Asiago Station from 1965 to 2000. He took the major fraction of the 16,000 plates acquired with that telescope, a most precious archive of photographic data. | JPL · 88961 |
References edit
- ^ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
- ^ "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Minor Planet Naming Guidelines (Rules and Guidelines for naming non-cometary small Solar-System bodies) – v1.0" (PDF). Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (PDF). 20 December 2021.