Meanings of minor planet names: 246001–247000

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]

246001–246100

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

246101–246200

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246132 Lugyny	2007 NM₁	Lugyny, a district in northern Ukraine, 110 km from Chernobyl and location of the Lugyny Youth Centre	JPL · 246132
246153 Waltermaria	2007 PW₃₀	Walter E. B. Mazzucato (1921–2003) and Maria L. Pozzi (1927–2003), parents of Italian co-discoverer Michele Mazzucato	JPL · 246153
246164 Zdvyzhensk	2007 QH₃	Brusyliv (Zdvyzhensk), the ancient town in Ukraine and birthplace of Ilarion Ohienko	JPL · 246164
246167 Joskohn	2007 RF₈	Jos Kohn (born 1988) studied physics at the university of Fribourg, Switzerland. He promotes astronomy to more than 600 adults and children throughout the country per year and is also a member of the observatory of Ependes, where he performs astronomy experiments with students.	JPL · 246167
246171 Konrad	2007 RU₁₅	Konrad König (born 2005), the first-born son of Agathe Schmid-König and astronomer Michael König, who discovered this minor planet	JPL · 246171

246201–246300

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246238 Crampton	2007 RL₂₇₄	David Crampton (born 1942) has overseen the development of exceptionally efficient, multiplexed spectrographs for CFHT and Gemini. Using them he helped establish Canadian excellence in observational cosmology. He has also excelled in research on Galactic structure and multiple stars, including X-ray binaries.	JPL · 246238
246247 Sheldoncooper	2007 SP₁₄	Sheldon Cooper, a fictional character in the television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Jim Parsons (born 1973)	JPL · 246247

246301–246400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246345 Carolharris	2007 TH₂₉₈	Carol E. Harris (born 1940), Professor Emeritus at the University of Victoria.	JPL · 246345

246401–246500

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

246501–246600

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246504 Hualien	2008 BG₁₆	Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan in terms of area, and is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan.	JPL · 246504

246601–246700

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246643 Miaoli	2008 YU₉	Miaoli, a city located in the mountainous terrain on the western coastline of Taiwan.	JPL · 246643

246701–246800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246759 Elviracheca	2009 CL₄	Elvira Checa Peña (born 1958), a chef at the Spanish Calar Alto Observatory during 2008–2014	JPL · 246759
246789 Pattinson	2009 DM₈₉	Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 1986), an English actor and musician.	JPL · 246789

246801–246900

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246803 Martinezpatrick	2009 FB₁	Patrick Martinez (b. 1956), a French aeronautical engineer and amateur astronomer.	IAU · 246803
246821 Satyarthi	2009 QW₃₃	Kailash Satyarthi (born 1954), an Indian electrical engineer who received the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of children's rights and education and for his fight against child labor.	JPL · 246821
246837 Bethfabinsky	2010 CR₅₁	Beth Fabinsky (born 1971), an American engineer who specializes in mission operations for NASA spacecraft.	JPL · 246837
246841 Williamirace	2010 DR₅₈	William Irace (born 1941) is an engineer who worked on the Viking Mars orbiters, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite, the W. M. Keck Ten MeterTelescopes and the Spitzer Space Telescope.	JPL · 246841
246842 Dutchstapelbroek	2010 EZ₅	Maryn "Dutch" Stapelbroek (born 1947), a physicist specializing in infrared and visible light-detector design and construction.	JPL · 246842
246861 Johnelwell	2010 KC₁₈	John Elwell (born 1958), an expert in the design, construction and calibration of infrared instrumentation for space-based missions to study astrophysics and the Earth's atmosphere.	JPL · 246861

246901–247000

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
246913 Slocum	1998 SU₆₃	Joshua Slocum (1844 – c. 1909) was the first person to circumnavigate the world alone.	JPL · 246913

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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 245,001–246,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 246,001–247,000	Succeeded by 247,001–248,000

[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.

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