Meanings of minor-planet names: 9001–10000
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). Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades. Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB). 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.
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets, 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. The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9001 Slettebak | 1981 QE2 | Arne Slettebak was for 25 years chair of the department of astronomy of the Ohio State University. | JPL · 9001 |
| 9002 Gabrynowicz | 1981 QV2 | Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz (1949) is Emerita Professor, Director of the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law of the University of Mississippi School of Law, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Space Law. | JPL · 9002 |
| 9003 Ralphmilliken | 1981 UW21 | Ralph E. Milliken (born 1978), a planetary science professor at Brown University. | JPL · 9003 |
| 9004 Peekaydee | 1982 UZ2 | Philip K. Dick (1928–1982), an American science fiction author. | JPL · 9004 |
| 9005 Sidorova | 1982 UU5 | Sophia Ivanovna Sidorova (born 1943), public education worker in Ukraine and leader of the Crimean Republic Committee for the education of workers. | JPL · 9005 |
| 9006 Voytkevych | 1982 UA7 | Vanda Georgievna Voytkevych (born 1949), friend of astronomer Lyudmila Karachkina who discovered this asteroid | MPC · 9006 |
| 9007 James Bond | 1983 TE1 | James Bond, "agent 007", fictional British spy | MPC · 9007 |
| 9008 Bohšternberk | 1984 BS | Bohumil Šternberk (1897–1983), Czech astronomer | MPC · 9008 |
| 9009 Tirso | 1984 HJ1 | Thyrsus (Tirso), the scepter of Dionysus; Italian initialism of the Circolo eno-g-astronomico TIRSO (for "all together enjoying, studying, observing"), a scientific and cultural circle | JPL · 9009 |
| 9010 Candelo | 1984 HM1 | Candelo, Italy, a small town in northern Piedmont | JPL · 9010 |
| 9011 Angelou | 1984 SU | Maya Angelou (1928–2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, an American poet, author, and civil rights activist | JPL · 9011 |
| 9012 Benner | 1984 UW | Lance A. M. Benner (born 1964), an American radio astronomer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Src). | JPL · 9012 |
| 9013 Sansaturio | 1985 PA1 | Maria Eugenia Sansaturio (born 1959), a mathematician at the University of Valladolid. | JPL · 9013 |
| 9014 Svyatorichter | 1985 UG5 | Svyatoslav Richter (1915–1997), Russian pianist and People's artist of the U.S.S.R. | JPL · 9014 |
| 9015 Coe | 1985 VK | Malcolm Coe (born 1949) is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Southampton in the U.K. | JPL · 9015 |
| 9016 Henrymoore | 1986 AE | Henry J. Moore (1928–1998), a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1960. | JPL · 9016 |
| 9017 Babadzhanyan | 1986 TW9 | Arno Babajanian (1921–1983), a Soviet composer and pianist. | JPL · 9017 |
| 9018 Galache | 1987 JG | José Luis Galache (born 1975) has worked at the Minor Planet Center (MPC) since 2009. | JPL · 9018 |
| 9019 Eucommia | 1987 QF3 | Eucommiaceae, a family with only one member, the elmlike Eucommia ulmoides, a vigorous and decorative plant. It is the only tree from temperate regions that produces latex in small quantities. | JPL · 9019 |
| 9020 Eucryphia | 1987 SG2 | Eucryphiaceae, a family with five species in a single genus. Eucryphia cordifolia (Chilean elm) may reach a height of 12 m. Hybrids between the different species are cultivated for the garden. | JPL · 9020 |
| 9021 Fagus | 1988 CT5 | Fagaceae, the beech family, with eight genera and over 1000 species, including oaks and chestnuts. Well-known species are Fagus grandifolia (American beech) and Fagus sylvatica (European beech). | JPL · 9021 |
| 9022 Drake | 1988 PC1 | Michael J. Drake (born 1946), American cosmochemist and geochemist | MPC · 9022 |
| 9023 Mnesthus | 1988 RG1 | Mnestheus from Greek mythology. | JPL · 9023 |
| 9024 Gunnargraps | 1988 RF9 | Gunnar Graps (1951–2004) | JPL · 9024 |
| 9025 Polanskey | 1988 SM2 | Carol A. Polanskey (born 1960), a science operations expert at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. | JPL · 9025 |
| 9026 Denevi | 1988 ST2 | Brett W. Denevi (born 1980), a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and an expert in the composition and evolution of asteroid surfaces. | JPL · 9026 |
| 9027 Graps | 1988 VP5 | Amara Graps (born 1961) is a planetary scientist. | JPL · 9027 |
| 9028 Konrádbeneš | 1989 BE1 | Konrád Beneš (1920–1999), Czech planetologist | MPC · 9028 |
| 9030 Othryoneus | 1989 UX5 | Othryoneus, from Greek mythology, who had taken part in the Trojan War in exchange for being allowed to marry Cassandra, King Priam's daughter. He was killed by Idomeneus during the Battle of the Ships. | IAU · 9030 |
| 9032 Tanakami | 1989 WK4 | Tanakami, extending over Shiga, Mie and Kyoto prefectures, is the site of the largest meteorite found in Japan. | JPL · 9032 |
| 9033 Kawane | 1990 AD | Kawane, a small town about 230 km west of Tokyo. | JPL · 9033 |
| 9034 Oleyuria | 1990 QZ17 | Oleyuria, Ukrainian piano duo of Olga Scherbakova and Yuri Scherbakov. | JPL · 9034 |
| 9038 Helensteel | 1990 VE1 | Helen Margaret Steel (born 1959), wife of discoverer Duncan Steel | MPC · 9038 |
| 9040 Flacourtia | 1991 BH1 | Flacourtiaceae, the Indian plum family, with almost 90 genera and 900 species. Flacourtia indica (governor's plum) is one of the species, and the southeast Asian genus Hydnocarpus produces an oil that is used for treating some skin diseases. | JPL · 9040 |
| 9041 Takane | 1991 CX | Takane, name of the town in which the Otomo observatory is located. | JPL · 9041 |
| 9044 Kaoru | 1991 KA | Kaoru Ikeya (born 1964), lecturer and curator of the Gotoh Planetarium and Astronomical Museum in Tokyo. | JPL · 9044 |
| 9052 Uhland | 1991 UJ4 | Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787–1862), a German poet. | JPL · 9052 |
| 9053 Hamamelis | 1991 VW5 | Hamamelidaceae, the witch-hazel family, with about 25 genera and 100 species, typical in South America and Africa. Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) is not a true hazel, although the leaves are similar. | JPL · 9053 |
| 9054 Hippocastanum | 1991 YO | Hippocastanaceae, the horse-chestnut family, with only two genera and 15 species. Aesculus hippocastanum (common horse-chestnut) is known for its creamy yellow flowers, in large, conical, upright panicles. | JPL · 9054 |
| 9055 Edvardsson | 1992 DP8 | Bengt Edvardsson (born 1956), Swedish astronomer | MPC · 9055 |
| 9056 Piskunov | 1992 EQ14 | Nikolai Piskunov (born 1957), Swedish astrophysicist | MPC · 9056 |
| 9059 Dumas | 1992 PJ | Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), the grandson of a French marquis and the son of a French general in Napoleon's army, a very well known writer. | JPL · 9059 |
| 9060 Toyokawa | 1992 RM | Hideji Toyokawa (1926–1995), a curator of the Gotoh Planetarium and Astronomical Museum in Tokyo. | JPL · 9060 |
| 9062 Ohnishi | 1992 WO5 | Michikazu Ohnishi (born 1933) is a chemical plant engineer and lecturer in descriptive geometry. | JPL · 9062 |
| 9063 Washi | 1992 YS | Shinsho Washi (born 1951), the director of the Sakai City Planetarium. | JPL · 9063 |
| 9064 Johndavies | 1993 BH8 | John Keith Davies (born 1955), British astronomer/aviation engineer † | MPC · 9064 |
| 9067 Katsuno | 1993 HR | Gentaro Katsuno (born 1933), chief editor of Gekkan Tenmon Guide ("Monthly Astronomy Guide") from 1975 to 1987 | JPL · 9067 |
| 9069 Hovland | 1993 OV | Larry E. Hovland (born 1947), a senior engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. | JPL · 9069 |
| 9070 Ensab | 1993 OZ2 | Leo Enright (born 1943) and Denise Sabatini (born 1950), Canadian astronomers | MPC · 9070 |
| 9071 Coudenberghe | 1993 OB13 | Peeter van Coudenberghe (1520–1594), Flemish botanist and pharmacist | JPL · 9071 |
| 9073 Yoshinori | 1994 ER | Yoshinori Kobayashi (born 1929), a professor emeritus at Hiroshima University and professor at Tokushima Bunri University. | JPL · 9073 |
| 9074 Yosukeyoshida | 1994 FZ | Yosuke Yoshida (born 1945), chief editor of Gekkan Tenmon Guide ("Monthly Astronomy Guide") from 1988 to 1993. | JPL · 9074 |
| 9076 Shinsaku | 1994 JT | Shinsaku Takasugi (1839–1867) | MPC · 9076 |
| 9077 Ildo | 1994 NC | Ildo Lombardi (1934–1954), Italian gymnast and brother of Giuseppe Lombardi, a member of a team of amateur astronomers. | JPL · 9077 |
| 9079 Gesner | 1994 PC34 | Conrad Gessner (1516–1565), a versatile Swiss naturalist and bibliographer | JPL · 9079 |
| 9080 Takayanagi | 1994 TP | Yuichi Takayanagi (born 1939) | JPL · 9080 |
| 9081 Hideakianno | 1994 VY | Hideaki Anno (born 1960), a Japanese animator and director. | JPL · 9081 |
| 9082 Leonardmartin | 1994 VR6 | Leonard J. Martin, planetary astronomer and cartographer at the Lowell Observatory. | JPL · 9082 |
| 9083 Ramboehm | 1994 WC4 | Jeff Ramos (born 1962) and Art Boehm (born 1944), friends of the discoverers Carolyn Shoemaker and David H. Levy. | JPL · 9083 |
| 9084 Achristou | 1995 CS1 | Apostolos Christou (born 1968), Planetary astronomer at the Irish Armagh Observatory | MPC · 9084 |
| 9087 Neff | 1995 SN3 | Vladimír Neff (1909–1983), Czech novelist and his son Ondřej Neff (born 1945), science fiction author | MPC · 9087 |
| 9088 Maki | 1995 SX3 | Fusao Maki (1916–2001), a songwriter who wrote many children's songs, school songs, home songs, and citizen's songs, and left hundreds of works. | JPL · 9088 |
| 9090 Chirotenmondai | 1995 UW8 | Chiro Astronomical Observatory (320) or Chiro tenmondai in Western Australia. It was founded by Australian and Japanese amateur astronomers in 1995. | JPL · 9090 |
| 9091 Ishidatakaki | 1995 VK | Takaki Ishida (born 1948), principal of Sanyo Girls' High and Junior High School in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. | JPL · 9091 |
| 9092 Nanyang | 1995 VU18 | Nanyang City, in the southwest of Henan Province | JPL · 9092 |
| 9093 Sorada | 1995 WA | Toshiyuki Sorada (born 1954), an amateur astronomer in Hiroshima City. | JPL · 9093 |
| 9094 Butsuen | 1995 WH | Kazunari Butsuen (born 1952), an amateur astronomer in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. | JPL · 9094 |
| 9096 Tamotsu | 1995 XE1 | Tamotsu Fujii (born 1947), a member of the Oriental Astronomical Association since 1960 and president of the Yamashiro Astronomical Association since its founding in 1962. | JPL · 9096 |
| 9097 Davidschlag | 1996 AU1 | Davidschlag, Upper Austria, small Austrian village, some 10 km to the north of Linz, at the entrance to the Sterngartl ("small garden of stars") region, home of the Privatobservatorium Meyer/Obermair (Private Observatory Meyer/Obermair) † | MPC · 9097 |
| 9098 Toshihiko | 1996 BQ3 | Toshihiko Osawa (1935–2001) | JPL · 9098 |
| 9099 Kenjitanabe | 1996 VN3 | Kenji Tanabe (born 1944), a professor at Okayama University of Science. | JPL · 9099 |
| 9100 Tomohisa | 1996 XU1 | Tomohisa Ohno (born 1948), a Japanese amateur astronomer. | JPL · 9100 |