Meanings of minor planet names: 278001–279000

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]

278001–278100

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

278101–278200

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278141 Tatooine	2007 CS₆₁	Tatooine is a desert planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It is the home planet of Anakin and Luke Skywalker.	JPL · 278141
278197 Touvron	2007 EL₁₂	Guy Touvron (born 1950), a French Classical trumpet player and music teacher	JPL · 278197
278200 Olegpopov	2007 EV₂₆	Oleg Popov (1930–2016), a famous Russian circus artist	JPL · 278200

278201–278300

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278225 Didierpelat	2007 EY₈₇	Didier Pelat (born 1948) is an astronomer at Paris Observatory, who has worked on spectroscopy and modelling of active galactic nuclei, hydrodynamics of accretion disks and stellar populations synthesis. He has also designed an iterative Bracewell interferometer extending the nulling effect to a large bandwidth.	JPL · 278225

278301–278400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278384 Mudanjiang	2007 MV₂₀	The Chinese city of Mudanjiang, located in the country's northernmost province of Heilongjiang	JPL · 278384
278386 Sofivanna	2007 NK₂	Twins Sofia and Ivanna (born 2007) are the grandchildren of Boris Romanyuk, Professor at the V. Ye. Lashkaryov Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.	JPL · 278386

278401–278500

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278447 Saviano	2007 TH	Roberto Saviano (born 1979), an Italian journalist, writer and essayist	JPL · 278447

278501–278600

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278513 Schwope	2008 CE₁₂₀	Axel Schwope (born 1959), a German astronomer at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam	JPL · 278513
278591 Salò	2008 NZ₃	The historic town of Salò on the western bank of Lake Garda in northern Italy	JPL · 278591

278601–278700

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278609 Avrudenko	2008 PP₁₇	Anatoliy Viktorovych Rudenko (born 1955), a Ukrainian scientist and surgeon	JPL · 278609
278645 Kontsevych	2008 RQ₂₂	Yevgen Vasylyovych Kontsevych (1935–2010) was a Ukrainian novelist and short story writer. In his works he often compared people's relationships with the behavior of birds and wild animals, preferring communication with the latter, rather than with the deceptive and treacherous-by-nature humans.	JPL · 278645

278701–278800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278735 Kamioka	2008 SG₈₃	The Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research is a neutrino physics laboratory located underground of the city of Hida in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.	JPL · 278735

278801–278900

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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

278901–279000

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
278956 Shei-Pa	2008 UZ₈₃	Shei-Pa National Park is located in the central part of Taiwan around the peaks of Hsuehshan and Dabajian Mountain, with an area of 76,850 hectares. There are 51 peaks over 3,000 meters high.	JPL · 278956
278986 Chenshuchu	2008 UQ₂₀₅	Chen Shu-chu, a vegetable vendor and philanthropist from Taitung in Eastern Taiwan	JPL · 278986

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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 277,001–278,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 278,001–279,000	Succeeded by 279,001–280,000

[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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v t e Meanings of minor-planet names
1–25,000	1–1000 1k 2k 3k 4k 5k 6k 7k 8k 9k 10k 11k 12k 13k 14k 15k 16k 17k 18k 19k 20k 21k 22k 23k 24k
25,001–50,000	25k 26k 27k 28k 29k 30k 31k 32k 33k 34k 35k 36k 37k 38k 39k 40k 41k 42k 43k 44k 45k 46k 47k 48k 49k
50,001–75,000	50k 51k 52k 53k 54k 55k 56k 57k 58k 59k 60k 61k 62k 63k 64k 65k 66k 67k 68k 69k 70k 71k 72k 73k 74k
75,001–100,000	75k 76k 77k 78k 79k 80k 81k 82k 83k 84k 85k 86k 87k 88k 89k 90k 91k 92k 93k 94k 95k 96k 97k 98k 99k
100,001–125,000	100k 101k 102k 103k 104k 105k 106k 107k 108k 109k 110k 111k 112k 113k 114k 115k 116k 117k 118k 119k 120k 121k 122k 123k 124k
125,001–150,000	125k 126k 127k 128k 129k 130k 131k 132k 133k 134k 135k 136k 137k 138k 139k 140k 141k 142k 143k 144k 145k 146k 147k 148k 149k
150,001–175,000	150k 151k 152k 153k 154k 155k 156k 157k 158k 159k 160k 161k 162k 163k 164k 165k 166k 167k 168k 169k 170k 171k 172k 173k 174k
175,001–200,000	175k 176k 177k 178k 179k 180k 181k 182k 183k 184k 185k 186k 187k 188k 189k 190k 191k 192k 193k 194k 195k 196k 197k 198k 199k
200,001–225,000	200k 201k 202k 203k 204k 205k 206k 207k 208k 209k 210k 211k 212k 213k 214k 215k 216k 217k 218k 219k 220k 221k 222k 223k 224k
225,001–250,000	225k 226k 227k 228k 229k 230k 231k 232k 233k 234k 235k 236k 237k 238k 239k 240k 241k 242k 243k 244k 245k 246k 247k 248k 249k
250,001–275,000	250k 251k 252k 253k 254k 255k 256k 257k 258k 259k 260k 261k 262k 263k 264k 265k 266k 267k 268k 269k 270k 271k 272k 273k 274k
275,001–300,000	275k 276k 277k 278k 279k 280k 281k 282k 283k 284k 285k 286k 287k 288k 289k 290k 291k 292k 293k 294k 295k 296k 297k 298k 299k
300,001–325,000	300k 301k 302k 303k 304k 305k 306k 307k 308k 309k 310k 311k 312k 313k 314k 315k 316k 317k 318k 319k 320k 321k 322k 323k 324k
325,001–350,000	325k 326k 327k 328k 329k 330k 331k 332k 333k 334k 335k 336k 337k 338k 339k 340k 341k 342k 343k 344k 345k 346k 347k 348k 349k
350,001–375,000	350k 351k 352k 353k 354k 355k 356k 357k 358k 359k 360k 361k 362k 363k 364k 365k 366k 367k 368k 369k 370k 371k 372k 373k 374k
375,001–400,000	375k 376k 377k 378k 379k 380k 381k 382k 383k 384k 385k 386k 387k 388k 389k 390k 391k 392k 393k 394k 395k 396k 397k 398k 399k
400,001–425,000	400k 401k 402k 403k 404k 405k 406k 407k 408k 409k 410k 411k 412k 413k 414k 415k 416k 417k 418k 419k 420k 421k 422k 423k 424k
425,001–450,000	425k 426k 427k 428k 429k 430k 431k 432k 433k 434k 435k 436k 437k 438k 439k 440k 441k 442k 443k 444k 445k 446k 447k 448k 449k
450,001–475,000	450k 451k 452k 453k 454k 455k 456k 457k 458k 459k 460k 461k 462k 463k 464k 465k 466k 467k 468k 469k 470k 471k 472k 473k 474k
475,001–500,000	475k 476k 477k 478k 479k 480k 481k 482k 483k 484k 485k 486k 487k 488k 489k 490k 491k 492k 493k 494k 495k 496k 497k 498k 499k
500,001–525,000	500k 501k 502k 503k 504k 505k 506k 507k 508k 509k 510k 511k 512k 513k 514k 515k 516k 517k 518k 519k 520k 521k 522k 523k 524k
525,001–550,000	525k 526k 527k 528k 529k 530k 531k 532k 533k 534k 535k 536k 537k 538k 539k 540k 541k 542k 543k 544k 545k 546k 547k 548k 549k
550,001–575,000	550k 551k 552k 553k 554k 555k 556k 557k 558k 559k 560k 561k 562k 563k 564k 565k 566k 567k 568k 569k 570k 571k 572k 573k 574k
575,001–600,000	575k 576k 577k 578k 579k 580k 581k 582k 583k 584k 585k 586k 587k 588k 589k 590k 591k 592k 593k 594k 595k 596k 597k 598k 599k
600,001–625,000	600k 601k 602k 603k 604k 605k 606k 607k 608k 609k 610k 611k 612k 613k 614k 615k 616k 617k 618k 619k 620k 621k 622k 623k 624k
625,001–650,000	625k 626k 627k 628k 629k 630k 631k 632k 633k 634k 635k 636k 637k 638k 639k 640k 641k 642k 643k 644k 645k 646k 647k 648k 649k
650,001–675,000	650k 651k 652k 653k 654k 655k 656k 657k 658k 659k 660k 661k 662k 663k 664k 665k 666k 667k 668k 669k 670k 671k 672k 673k 674k
675,001–700,000	675k 676k 677k 678k 679k 680k 681k 682k 683k 684k 685k 686k 687k 688k 689k 690k 691k 692k 693k 694k 695k 696k 697k 698k 699k
700,001–725,000	700k 701k 702k 703k 704k 705k 706k 707k 708k 709k 710k 711k 712k 713k 714k 715k 716k 717k 718k 719k