Meanings of minor planet names: 254001–255000

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]

254001–254100

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

254101–254200

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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

254201–254300

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
254299 Shambleau	2004 RT288	"Shambleau" (1933) is a short story by the American writer C. L. Moore (1911–1987).	JPL · 254299

254301–254400

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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

254401–254500

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
254422 Henrykent	2004 VR122	Henry Kent, a Canadian inventor with a passion and curiosity for science and engineering, who worked at the Ontario Science Centre	JPL · 254422

254501–254600

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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

254601–254700

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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

254701–254800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
254749 Kurosawa	2005 PE6	Akira Kurosawa (1910–1998), a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor	JPL · 254749

254801–254900

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
254846 Csontváry	2005 RT3	Tivadar Kosztka Csontváry (1853–1919), a Hungarian painter	JPL · 254846
254863 Robinwarren	2005 SM4	Robin Warren (1937–2024), an Australian pathologist and Nobel Laureate	JPL · 254863
254876 Strommer	2005 ST19	Gyula Strommer (1920–1995), a Hungarian mechanical engineer and mathematician, professor of the Budapest University of Technology, and discoverer of minor planets	JPL · 254876

254901–255000

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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 253,001–254,000

Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 254,001–255,000

Succeeded by 255,001–256,000