Meanings of minor-planet names: 61001–62000

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]

61001–61100

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61042 Noviello	2000 KB₆₁	Jessica Noviello (born 1992) completed her Ph.D. research at Arizona State University studying surface features on Europa to discern its internal structure. She applies those skills in analyzing the morphology of the asteroid (101955) Bennu for the OSIRIS-REx mission.	IAU · 61042

61101–61200

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61189 Ohsadaharu	2000 NE₂₉	Sadaharu Oh (born 1940), a world-renowned professional baseball player with the world lifetime home run record (868). He also won the World Baseball Classic Champion 2006 as manager of Team Japan.	JPL · 61189
61190 Johnschutt	2000 NF₂₉	John Schutt (born 1948) and American expert mountaineer who served for more than two decades as a member of the yearly field teams sent by the Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program to Antarctica. He played a key role in assuring that the expeditions were executed safely. As a participant he has found over 10,000 "earthbound minor planets" (Src).	JPL · 61190
61195 Martinoli	2000 OU₂	Piero Martinoli (born 1941) is professor of physics and leader of the superconductivity research group at the University of Neuchatel.	JPL · 61195

61201–61300

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61208 Stonařov	2000 OD₈	Stonařov, Moravia, Czech Republic (Stannern in German), where an eucrite meteorite fell on 1808 May 22, on the occasion of the fall's 200th anniversary	JPL · 61208

61301–61400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61342 Lovejoy	2000 PJ₃	Terry Lovejoy (born 1966), Australian amateur astronomer and comet discoverer who also pioneered comet discovery via the internet in SOHO/LASCO data and through sky patrols using digital cameras.	JPL · 61342
61384 Arturoromer	2000 QW	Arturo Romer (born 1944), a Swiss physicist and mathematician. He directed the Liceo Cantonale Locarno and is now director of the association Electricità della Svizzera Italiana	JPL · 61384
61386 Namikoshi	2000 QT₁	Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000), was a Japanese practitioner, who founded the Shiatsu therapy, which involves massage by thumb. His definition of Shiatsu was "The heart of Shiatsu is like a mother's love. Pressure of the finger causes the spring of life to flow".	JPL · 61386
61400 Voxandreae	2000 QM₆	Andreae Deman (1945–2008) was an American planetarium narrator at the Von Braun Astronomical Society in Huntsville, Alabama. The "Voice of Andreae" was silenced with her death from leukemia. The asteroid's name, "Voxandreae", is Latin for "Voice of Andreae".	JPL · 61400

61401–61500

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61401 Schiff	2000 QQ₆	Leonard Isaac Schiff, (1915–1971) an American theoretical physicist who proposed the use of orbiting gyroscopes to check some of the effects of the theory of general relativity. His ideas led to the Gravity Probe B experiment.	JPL · 61401
61402 Franciseveritt	2000 QS₆	Francis Everitt (born 1934), American physicist add professor at Stanford University, who is the principal investigator of the Gravity Probe B experiment.	JPL · 61402
61404 Očenášek	2000 QM₉	Ludvík Očenášek [cs] (1872–1949), a Czech aviation and rocket pioneer who constructed a radial engine for airplanes and his own monoplane in 1905. He began systematic rocket research in 1928, and in 1930 his two-stage rockets reached an altitude of 1.5 km. He considered the launching of rockets from aircraft and the long-distance rocket delivery of mail.(Src).	JPL · 61404
61444 Katokimiko	2000 QB₂₅	Kimiko Kato (born 1934) is a Japanese amateur astronomer who is committed to education and public outreach regarding small Solar System body impacts on Earth. She also studies impact craters and the K-T boundary in Japan. She has been a member of Japan Spaceguard Association since its establishment.	JPL · 61444

61501–61600

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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

61601–61700

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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

61701–61800

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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

61801–61900

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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

61901–62000

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
61912 Storrs	2000 QC₂₄₇	Alex Storrs (born 1960) is an American astronomer and professor at Towson State University. He is known for developing innovative techniques for Hubble Space Telescope observations of solar system objects. He also pioneered searches for satellites of minor planets that revealed companions to 87 Sylvia, 107 Camilla and others.	JPL · 61912
61913 Lanning	2000 QJ₂₄₈	Howard Lanning (1946–2007) an American astronomer who validated astronomical software and assisted other astronomers at Mount Wilson, the National Optical Astronomical Observatories and the Space Telescope Science Institute. He also studied variable stars and catalogued ultraviolet-excess stars in the Sandage Two-color Survey of the Galactic Plane.	JPL · 61913

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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 60,001–61,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 61,001–62,000	Succeeded by 62,001–63,000

[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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