Meanings of minor planet names: 44001–45000
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]
44001–44100[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44001 Jonquet | 1997 RE3 | Pierre Jonquet, French astronomer, a founding member of the Astronomical Society at Montpellier, southern France | JPL · 44001 |
| 44005 Migliardi | 1997 SY3 | Marco Migliardi (born 1957), Italian teacher of Italian language and literature, amateur astronomer and friend of Vittorio Goretti who discovered this minor planet | JPL · 44005 |
| 44011 Juubichi | 1997 UH15 | Mount Juubichi (482 m), east of Nanyo city, Yamagata prefecture, Japan | JPL · 44011 |
| 44013 Iidetenmondai | 1997 VB7 | Iide Tenmondai (Iide Astronomical observatory) is located in the southern part of Yamagata prefecture, Japan. | JPL · 44013 |
| 44016 Jimmypage | 1997 WQ28 | Jimmy Page (born 1944), OBE, British composer, producer and master guitarist, leader of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin | JPL · 44016 |
| 44027 Termain | 1998 AD | Patricia Ann Termain Eliason (born 1952), American support scientist for Viking, Voyager and other spacecraft missions, project manager for the GONG heliosiesmic program | JPL · 44027 |
| 44033 Michez | 1998 CB4 | Giacomo Michez (1839–1873), an Italian astronomer. | JPL · 44033 |
| 44039 de Sahagún | 1998 DS33 | Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590), a Franciscan missionary who after arriving in Mexico in 1529 researched the indigenous cultures of the country. | JPL · 44039 |
| 44041 Françoiselaunay | 1998 ER1 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44041 |
44101–44200[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44103 Aldana | 1998 GE1 | Fernando Aldana Mayor (born 1944), Spanish astrophysicist, promoter of the 10-m Gran Telescopio Canarias | JPL · 44103 |
| 44110 Cassegrain | 1998 HT5 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44110 |
| 44117 Haroldlarson | 1998 HL27 | Harold P. Larson (born 1938), American pioneer of airborne infrared astronomy and educator at the University of Arizona | JPL · 44117 |
| 44167 Patriciaquinn | 1998 JA3 | Patricia Quinn (born 1956), American water project engineer who joined the Lowell Observatory Advisory Board in 2022 | IAU · 44167 |
| 44192 Paulguttman | 1998 ME2 | Paul Guttman (1940–2013), a radiologist and entrepreneur | JPL · 44192 |
| 44194 Urmuz | 1998 MQ7 | Urmuz (1883-1923), Romanian absurdist writer whose work was influential for the development of Dadaism and Surrealism | IAU · 44194 |
| 44195 Michaelcordova | 1998 MW7 | Michael Cordova (born 1956), American airline pilot and astronomy enthusiast. Cordova joined the Lowell Observatory Advisory Board in 2022. | IAU · 44195 |
44201–44300[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44206 Clareschneider | 1998 OM | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44206 |
| 44216 Olivercabasa | 1998 PH | Josep Maria Oliver i Cabasa (born 1944), Spanish amateur astronomer, co-founder of the amateur astronomical society Spanish: Agrupació Astronómica de Sabadell, also see 13260 Sabadell | JPL · 44216 |
| 44217 Whittle | 1998 PO1 | Frank Whittle (1907–1996), British aeronautical engineer and pilot, inventor of the turbo-jet engine | JPL · 44217 |
| 44263 Nansouty | 1998 QR53 | Charles-Marie-Étienne Champion Dubois de Nansouty (1815–1895), French general and meteorologist (fr-wiki) | JPL · 44263 |
44301–44400[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44360 Ferlet | 1998 SK10 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44360 |
| 44368 Andreafrigo | 1998 SR26 | Andrea Frigo (born 1982), an Italian friar and material scientist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) in Padua, who has been instrumental in refurbishing the planetarium of Amelia with astronomical instruments at the Santissima Annunziata convent in Umbria, Italy (Src). | IAU · 44368 |
44401–44500[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44455 Artdula | 1998 VK | Arthur M. Dula (born 1947), a patent attorney, space lawyer and co-founder of several space technology companies. | JPL · 44455 |
| 44456 Vidal-Madjar | 1998 VP4 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44456 |
| 44473 Randytatum | 1998 WB | Randy Tatum (born 1956) is an avid observer with the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) and has served as Assistant Coordinator for the Jupiter and Solar Sections of the ALPO as well as full Solar Coordinator from 1993 to 1996. He is the 2016 recipient of the ALPO Haas Award for his prolific and expert observing. | JPL · 44473 |
| 44475 Hikarumasai | 1998 WF | Hikaru Masai (born 1987) is a Japanese vocalist and original member of the musical group "Kalafina". | JPL · 44475 |
| 44479 Oláheszter | 1998 WS8 | Eszter Kiss (née Oláh, 1945–2004), mother of astronomer László L. Kiss, who co-discovered this minor planet | JPL · 44479 |
44501–44600[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44527 Tonnon | 1998 YC6 | Anthonie Tonnon (born 1989) is a New Zealand musician. | IAU · 44527 |
| 44530 Horáková | 1998 YC8 | Milada Horáková (1901–1950), Czech lawyer and politician | JPL · 44530 |
| 44570 Yuribeletsky | 1999 FX5 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44570 |
| 44574 Lavoratti | 1999 GF1 | Piero Lavoratti (born 1935), Italian amateur astronomer | JPL · 44574 |
| 44597 Thoreau | 1999 PW | Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), American essayist and naturalist | MPC · 44597 |
44601–44700[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44613 Rudolf | 1999 RU31 | Rudolf II von Habsburg (1552–1612), Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor, who employed Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler as his court astronomers in Prague | JPL · 44613 |
44701–44800[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44711 Carp | 1999 TD4 | The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Japanese baseball team | JPL · 44711 |
| 44715 Paolovezzosi | 1999 TZ5 | Description available (see ref). Please summarize in your own words. | IAU · 44715 |
| 44717 Borgoamozzano | 1999 TY6 | Borgo a Mozzano is an ancient Italian town in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany. On a wooded hill nearby is the Monte Agliale Astronomical Observatory, at which numerous asteroids and supernovae have been discovered. | JPL · 44717 |
44801–44900[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44821 Amadora | 1999 TZ236 | Amadora Gonzalez, Spanish wife of David Martínez-Delgado, who first observed this minor planet in September 1998 at the Las Campanas Observatory (more than a year before the actual discovery by the Catalina Sky Survey) | JPL · 44821 |
| 44885 Vodička | 1999 VB | Karel Vodička (1880–1957) was a mathematician and physicist with a deep interest in astronomy, director of Jirsík High School (1925–1935). He founded the South Bohemian Astronomical Society (JAS) in 1928 and served as the first director of České Budějovice Observatory (1928–1942) built by JAS. | JPL · 44885 |
44901–45000[edit]
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
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.