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 published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars several times a year.[1] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).[2] 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.[3][4] Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets,[5] Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named prior to World War II. Meanings marked with * are from legacy sources may not be accurate. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SBDB".
Don Lee (born 1949) is a material scientist at Teledyne Imaging Sensors who has played a critical role in the development of high performance HgCdTe infrared detectors that have enabled a generation of scientific facilities, including the Hubble Space Telescope, WISE, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and New Horizons.
Eric Piquette (born 1971) is a material scientist at Teledyne Imaging Sensors who has played a critical role in the development of high performance HgCdTe infrared detectors that have enabled a generation of scientific facilities, including the Hubble Space Telescope, WISE, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and New Horizons.
Paola Amico (born 1964) is a systems engineer at the European Southern Observatory. She has been a key member of teams that have developed and installed detector systems and instrumentation at the world's largest ground-based telescopes, including ESO's Very Large Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory.
Majid Zandian (born 1962) is a material scientist at Teledyne Imaging Sensors who has played a critical role in the development of high performance HgCdTe infrared detectors that have enabled a generation of scientific facilities, including the Hubble Space Telescope, WISE, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and New Horizons.
Markus Loose (born 1970), an electrical engineer, has played a central role in the development of low noise infrared detector electronics that have enabled a new generation of astronomical instrumentation. His electronics have been used in numerous ground- and space-based telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope and WISE
Hans-Klaus Reif (born 1949) has built very large high-precision shutters that are used with CCD cameras at ground-based observatories around the world. His shutters enable large cameras in telescopes at La Palma, Kitt Peak, Haleakala, Paranal and Palomar Observatory.
Vyshnavi Suntharalingam (born 1968) has led the development of advanced visible CCD and CMOS detectors at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. She has helped create larger format devices that can be assembled into mosaics.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SBDB".
