Meanings of minor planet names: 162001–163000

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]

162001–162100

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162001 Vulpius	1990 TH₉	Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570–1615), a German singer and composer of church music	JPL · 162001
162002 Spalatin	1990 TC₁₀	George Spalatin (1484–1545) was a German theologian, humanist and historian. In 1502 he went to the University of Wittenberg and had good relations with Martin Luther and to the Reformation. Spalatin was painted by Lukas Cranach, father and son. He died at Altenburg and was buried in the St. Batholomew church.	JPL · 162002
162011 Konnohmaru	1994 AB₁	Konnohmaru is a legendary warrior of the Heiji Rebellion (1159)	JPL · 162011
162035 Jirotakahashi	1995 YW₁	Jiro Takahashi (born 1949), professor of science education at Ehime University	JPL · 162035
162059 Mészáros	1997 AM₁₇	Attila Mészáros (1951–2022) was Czech astronomer of Hungarian origin. He was a member of the Astronomical Institute of Charles University in Prague from 1984. Mészáros dealt with cosmology, the large-scale structure of the universe and γ-ray bursts.	IAU · 162059

162101–162200

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162158 Merrillhess	1999 CZ₉	Merrill Hess (born 1955), an amateur astronomer and has been president and vice-president of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society many times.	JPL · 162158
162166 Mantsch	1999 FW₈₂	Paul Mantsch (born 1941), American particle and astro-particle physicist with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey	JPL · 162166
162173 Ryugu	1999 JU₃	Ryūgū-jō (Ryugu), the undersea palace of the dragon deity Ryūjin in Japanese mythology, from where a Japanese fisherman brought back a box with a secret. The naming alludes to the Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return mission.	JPL · 162173

162201–162300

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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

162301–162400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162395 Michaelbird	2000 CY₁₀₈	Michael K. Bird (b. 1944), a German planetary scientist.	IAU · 162395

162401–162500

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162466 Margon	2000 JA₉₀	Bruce Margon (born 1948), American astronomer and a contributor to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey	JPL · 162466

162501–162600

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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

162601–162700

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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

162701–162800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162755 Spacesora	2000 WA₆₈	"Space Sora", the non-profit organization who has contributed to the popularization of science, especially astronomy, among children in Ehime prefecture, Japan, since 2008	JPL · 162755

162801–162900

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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

162901–163000

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
162937 Prêtre	2001 PQ₉	René Prêtre (born 1957), a Swiss heart surgeon who treats children in both Switzerland and Mozambique. He was voted Swiss of the Year in 2009.	JPL · 162937
162978 Helenhart	2001 QD₃₃₃	Helen M. Hart (born 1954), a mission operations analyst at the Applied Physics Laboratory, worked as a Mission Sequencer for the New Horizons mission to Pluto.	JPL · 162978

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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 161,001–162,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 162,001–163,000	Succeeded by 163,001–164,000

[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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