Meanings of minor-planet names: 53001–54000

This is a partial list of meanings of minor-planet names. Also see list of named minor planets (alphabetical) for a condensed version without naming citations.

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. Public Domain 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]

53001–53100

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53005 Antibes 1998 VW2 A Greek trading post founded in the 5th century BCE, the city of Antibes Juan-les-Pins was fortified at various times. IAU · 53005
53029 Wodetzky 1998 WY6 József Wodetzky (1872–1956), a Hungarian astronomer and mathematician who was director of the Astronomical Institute of Pázmány Péter University from 1934 to 1942. His research was in classical astronomy, mainly concerned with the three-body problem and the motion of the Moon. JPL · 53029
53053 Sabinomaffeo 1998 XH9 Father Sabino Maffeo, S.J. (b. 1922), a great educator in the Massimiliano Massimo Jesuit college in Rome, provincial of the Roman Province of the Society of Jesus and technical director of Vatican Radio. IAU · 53053
53055 Astrogapra 1998 XT14 GAPRA (Groupement d'Astronomie Populaire de la Région d'Antibes) is the leading astronomy association on the Côte d'Azur in Southern France. IAU · 53055
53088 Mauricehirsch 1998 YF5 Maurice Hirsch (1902–1988), a French teacher. IAU · 53088
53093 La Orotava 1998 YO12 La Orotava, a town and municipality in the northern part of the Island of Tenerife JPL · 53093

53101–53200

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Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53109 Martinphillipps 1999 AD5 Martin Phillipps (1963–2024), lead singer of the Dunedin rock band The Chills, whose music forms the backbone of the so-called "Dunedin sound." IAU · 53109
53127 Adrienklotz 1999 AH25 Adrien N. Klotz (b. 1999), a French amateur astronomer. IAU · 53127
53137 Gabytutty 1999 BL4 Gabriela Paz Protz Miqueles (b. 1988), a Chilean landscape architect and muralist. IAU · 53137
53157 Akaishidake 1999 CP Akaishidake Mountain, Shizuoka, Japan JPL · 53157
53159 Mysliveček 1999 CN3 Josef Mysliveček (1737–1781), a Czech composer from the period of early classicism. He worked in Italy (Il divino Boemo) beginning in 1763. He composed orchestral works, oratorios and operas. JPL · 53159

53201–53300

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Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53237 Simonson 1999 CU118 Walter Simonson (born 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist. JPL · 53237
53250 Beucher 1999 DY3 Jacqueline Beucher (born 1947) has been a tireless promoter of astronomy for several decades. She has served in various official roles for the Astronomical Society of Kansas City and the Astronomical League. Beucher also has helped plan and organize many astronomy conventions and has led several solar eclipse tours. JPL · 53250
53252 Sardegna 1999 EY4 Sardinia, in Italian JPL · 53252
53253 Zeiler 1999 EV5 Michael Zeiler (born 1956) is a technical writer at the Environmental Systems Research Institute who helped develop the ArcGIS geographic information system JPL · 53253
53256 Sinitiere 1999 FD Robert Sinitiere (born 1950), an amateur astronomer and pharmacist. JPL · 53256
53285 Mojmír 1999 FM53 Mojmír, ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from (830–845/46). He promoted Christianity in his empire, trying to attach Moravia to Western Europe. JPL · 53285

53301–53400

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53311 Deucalion 1999 HU11 Deucalion, the Ancient Greek mythological Adam. After a flood in which all humans were drowned except for Deucalion and (his wife) Pyrrha, an oracle tells them to "throw the bones of their mother" behind them. Puzzled, they decided that their mother is Earth and her bones are stones. The stones they then threw over their shoulders sprang up into people to repopulate the world. JPL · 53311
53316 Michielford 1999 JY3 Michiel Ford, American amateur astronomer, recipient of a Milken National Educator Award JPL · 53316

53401–53500

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53435 Leonard 1999 VM40 Gregory J. Leonard (b. 1963), an American geologist and planetary scientist. IAU · 53435
53468 Varros 2000 AC2 George Varros (born 1959) is an amateur astronomer who helped NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office popularize lunar-meteoroid-impact monitoring by amateur astronomers, for the purpose of assessing the dangers to future astronauts during prolonged visits to the lunar surface. JPL · 53468

53501–53600

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53537 Zhangyun 2000 AZ239 Yun Zhang (born 1990) is a post-doctoral researcher at Université Côte d'Azur whose studies include the numerical modeling of asteroid surfaces and interiors, placing strong constraints on their mechanical and strength properties based on their observed physical properties. IAU · 53537

53601–53700

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53629 Andrewpotter 2000 CJ112 Andrew E. Potter (born 1926) is a space scientist who discovered the sodium and potassium components of the atmospheres of both Mercury and the moon. JPL · 53629
53640 Marché 2000 DT14 Jordan Marché (born 1955) is an astronomy educator in planetaria, astronomy colleges and universities from Pennsylvania to Nevada. He has written on American planetaria, astronomers and other astronomical topics. Jordan has also been an amateur telescope maker publishing articles on optical designs and tests. IAU · 53640

53701–53800

[edit]

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

53801–53900

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53817 Gertrudebacon 2000 EO138 Gertrude Bacon (1874–1949), a British aeronautical pioneer. IAU · 53817
53818 Isispogson 2000 EV138 Isis Pogson (1852–1945), a British astronomer and meteorologist. IAU · 53818
53839 Schölkopf 2000 EY197 Bernhard Schölkopf (b. 1968), the founder and director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and a professor at ETH Zurich. IAU · 53839
53843 Antjiekrog 2000 FG10 Antjie Krog (born 1952), a South African writer. JPL · 53843

53901–54000

[edit]

Named minor planet Provisional This minor planet was named for... Ref · Catalog
53910 Jánfischer 2000 GF4 Ján Fischer (1905–1980) was a theoretical physicist and professor at Comenius University, Bratislava. He studied interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation and significantly contributed to the quantum theory of photoelectric effect and Compton phenomenon. JPL · 53910

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  2. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ^ "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  4. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  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.
  6. ^ Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
  7. ^ "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  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.


Preceded by Meanings of minor planet names
List of minor planets: 53,001–54,000 		Succeeded by
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