Meanings of minor planet names: 541001–542000

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]

541001–541100

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

541101–541200

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541132 Leleākūhonua	2015 TG₃₈₇	Leleākūhonua is a life form mentioned in the Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo. The name compares the orbit to the flight of migratory birds and evokes a yearning to be near Earth. Me he manu i ke ala pō`aiapuni lā, he pa`a mau nō ia i ka hui me kona pūnana i kumu mai ai.	JPL · 541132
541185 Boldogkői	2011 BO₄₄	Zsolt Boldogkői (b. 1961), a Hungarian molecular biologist.	IAU · 541185
541200 Komjádibéla	2011 BJ₁₀₇	Béla Komjádi (1892–1933), a Hungarian water polo player and coach.	IAU · 541200

541201–541300

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

541301–541400

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

541401–541500

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541487 Silviapablo	2011 OG₁₈	Silvia (born 2006) and Pablo (born 2010) are the children of the Spanish amateur astronomer Juanjo Gonzalez.	IAU · 541487

541501–541600

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541508 Liucixin	2011 QK₃₇	Liu Cixin (b. 1963) is a Chinese science-fiction writer. He received the 2015 Hugo Award for his novel The Three-Body Problem.	IAU · 541508
541550 Schickbéla	2011 SR₆₈	Béla Schick (1877–1967) was a Hungarian-born American pediatrician, known for his Schick test he developed in 1913	IAU · 541550
541565 Gucklerkároly	2011 SW₁₉₄	Károly Guckler [hu] (1858–1923) was a Hungarian forester, best known for the reforestation of the Hármashatár hill in Budapest city, Hungary.	IAU · 541565
541571 Schulekfrigyes	2011 SM₂₃₂	Frigyes Schulek (1841–1919) was a Hungarian architect, full professor at the Technical University of Budapest, and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.	IAU · 541571
541575 Mikhailnazarov	2011 SX₂₄₇	Mikhail A. Nazarov (1949–2016), a former head the Laboratory of Meteoritics at the Vernadsky Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences	IAU · 541575
541582 Tóthimre	2011 TZ₅	Imre Tóth (born 1957) is a Hungarian astronomer and planetary scientist, known for his research on the coma and nucleus of comets using observations made by the Hubble telescope.	IAU · 541582
541587 Paparó	2011 TG₁₆	Margit Paparó (born 1950), a Hungarian astronomer and an observer of pulsating variable stars. She has also discovered supernova SN 1976C.	IAU · 541587

541601–541700

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541618 Magyaribéla	2011 UY₁₂₅	Béla Magyari (1949–2018) was a Hungarian pilot, aeronautical engineer, colonel in the Hungarian Air Force, member of the Hungarian Astronomical Association, president of the Hungarian Astronautical Society, and a backup cosmonaut of the Soyuz 36 mission, who also worked for the Hungarian Space Office.	IAU · 541618
541627 Halmospál	2011 UE₁₅₅	Paul Halmos (1916–2006) was a Hungarian-American mathematician.	IAU · 541627
541631 Kirbulychev	2011 UT₁₇₂	Kir Bulychev was a pen name of Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko (1934–2003), a Russian orientalist historian and a well-known science fiction writers	IAU · 541631
541691 Ranschburg	2011 VC₃	Jenő Ranschburg [hu] (1935–2011) was a Hungarian psychologist, writer, and science popularizer.	IAU · 541691

541701–541800

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541741 Fado	2011 WD₁₁₈	Fado, a Portuguese musical genre with roots in historical music from urban Lisbon. Fado also translates to "destiny" or "fate" in English.	IAU · 541741
541776 Oláhkatalin	2011 YZ₁₂	Katalin Oláh (born 1948),0 a Hungarian astronomer at the Konkoly Observatory. Her research includes binary stars, as wells as the spots, the differential rotation, and the cycling activity of stars.	IAU · 541776

541801–541900

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541842 Amygreaves	2012 BF₂₄	Amy Greaves (born 2003), the granddaughter of British amateur astronomer Norman Falla, who discovered this minor planet.	IAU · 541842
541878 Jessicatallulah	2012 BX₁₃₀	Jessica Tallulah Jane Forward (born 2005), the granddaughter of British amateur astronomer Norman Falla, who discovered this minor planet.	IAU · 541878
541897 TRAPPIST	2012 CK	TRAPPIST (Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescopes) are two 0.6-meter robotic telescopes located at the La Silla Observatory in Chile and at the Oukaïmeden Observatory in Morocco used for searching for comets and exoplanets.	IAU · 541897

541901–542000

back to top

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
541982 Grendel	2012 FF₈₇	Lajos Grendel (1948–2018) was a Slovakian-Hungarian writer and university teacher.	IAU · 541982
541983 Matthiaspenselin	2012 GN₅	Matthias Penselin (born 1963) is a German science teacher and astronomer.	IAU · 541983
541992 Lukácsbéla	2012 GE₂₆	Béla Lukács (born 1947) is a Hungarian theoretical physicist.	IAU · 541992

back to top

References

^ "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.

Preceded by 540,001–541,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 541,001–542,000	Succeeded by 542,001–543,000

[WGSBN-Bulletin-Archive-1] "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

[MPC-Circulars-Archive-2] "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[JPL-Discovery-3] "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[DoMPN-4] Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[DoMPN-Addendum-5] 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-6] Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.

[MPC-Preannouncement-7] "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.

[WGSBN-Naming-Guidelines-8] "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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]