Meanings of minor planet names: 240001–241000

This is a partial list of meanings of minor-planet names. Also see list of named minor planets (alphabetical) for a condensed version without naming citations.

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]

240001–240100

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
240021 Radzo	2001 TX257	Jozef Radzo (born 1949) is a teacher of mathematics and physics at Gymnázium A. Bernoláka secondary school in Senec, Slovakia, where he established modern physics and chemistry laboratories. From 1973 to 1993, he worked in Gymnázium Šamor{í}n, where he encouraged S. Kürti's interest in astronomy.	JPL · 240021
240022 Demitra	2001 TR258	Pavol Demitra (1974–2011), Slovak ice-hockey player	JPL · 240022

240101–240200

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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

240201–240300

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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

240301–240400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
240364 Kozmutza	2003 SQ129	Flóra Kozmutza (1905–1995) was a Hungarian educator, psychologist and high school teacher.	JPL · 240364
240381 Emilchyne	2003 SB317	Yemilchyne Raion (translit. Emil'chyns'kyi), a district in northern Ukraine, birthplace of Baikonur engineer Vladimir Khilchenko (born 1931) and folk singer Nina Matviyenko (born 1947)	JPL · 240381

240401–240500

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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

240501–240600

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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

240601–240700

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
240697 Gemenc	2005 GC	Gemenc, a forest and the only remaining tidal area of the Danube in Hungary.	JPL · 240697

240701–240800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
240757 Farkasberci	2005 KS8	Bertalan "Berci" Farkas (born 1949), the first Hungarian cosmonaut and the first Esperantist in space.	JPL · 240757

240801–240900

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
240871 MOSS	2006 DA	The Morocco Oukaimeden Sky Survey (MOSS) is an international amateur sky survey established in 2011. The Swiss–French–Moroccan partnership uses a 0.5-meter remote telescope at the Oukaïmeden Observatory (J43), located in the Moroccan High Atlas mountain range (Src, Src, Src).	JPL · 240871

240901–241000

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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

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References

1. "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
2. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
3. "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
4. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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.
6. Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
7. "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
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.

Preceded by 239,001–240,000

Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 240,001–241,000

Succeeded by 241,001–242,000