List of minor planets

The following is a list of numbered minor planets (essentially the same as asteroids) in ascending numerical order. Minor planets are defined as small bodies in the Solar System, including asteroids, distant objects, and dwarf planets, but not including comets. The catalog consists of hundreds of pages, each containing 1,000 minor planets. Every year, the Minor Planet Center, which operates on behalf of the International Astronomical Union, publishes thousands of newly numbered minor planets in its Minor Planet Circulars (see index).^[1][2] As of December 2024^[update], there are 756,999 numbered minor planets (secured discoveries) out of a total of 1,386,752 observed small Solar System bodies, with the remainder being unnumbered minor planets and comets.^[3]

The catalog of minor planets is published by the Minor Planet Center and contains 740,000 entries, including 134340 Pluto.^[1] For an overview, see index.

Growing number of minor planets since 1995:

•   numbered and named bodies (listed)
•   numbered but unnamed bodies (listed)
•   unnumbered bodies (not part of this list)

The catalog's first object is 1 Ceres, discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801, while its best-known entry is Pluto, listed as 134340 Pluto. The vast majority (97.3%) of minor planets are asteroids from the asteroid belt (the catalog uses a color code to indicate a body's dynamical classification). There are more than a thousand different minor-planet discoverers observing from a growing list of registered observatories. In terms of numbers, the most prolific discoverers are Spacewatch, LINEAR, MLS, NEAT and CSS. There are also 24,985 named minor planets mostly after people, places and figures from mythology and fiction,^[4] which account for only 3.3% of all numbered catalog entries. (4596) 1981 QB and 734551 Monin are currently the lowest-numbered unnamed and highest-numbered named minor planets, respectively.^[1][4]

It is expected that the upcoming survey by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will discover another 5 million minor planets during the next ten years—almost a tenfold increase from current numbers.^[5] While all main-belt asteroids with a diameter above 10 km (6.2 mi) have already been discovered, there might be as many as 10 trillion 1 m (3.3 ft)-sized asteroids or larger out to the orbit of Jupiter; and more than a trillion minor planets in the Kuiper belt.^[5][6] For minor planets grouped by a particular aspect or property, see § Specific lists.

Description of partial lists

The list of minor planets consists of more than 700 partial lists, each containing 1000 minor planets grouped into 10 tables. The data is sourced from the Minor Planet Center (MPC) and expanded with data from the JPL SBDB (mean-diameter), Johnston's archive (sub-classification) and others (see detailed field descriptions below). For an overview of all existing partial lists, see § Main index.

The information given for a minor planet includes a permanent and provisional designation (§ Designation), a citation that links to the meanings of minor planet names (only if named), the discovery date, location, and credited discoverers (§ Discovery and § Discoverers), a category with a more refined classification than the principal grouping represented by the background color (§ Category), a mean-diameter, sourced from JPL's SBDB or otherwise calculated estimates in italics (§ Diameter), and a reference (Ref) to the corresponding pages at MPC and JPL SBDB.

The MPC may credit one or several astronomers, a survey or similar program, or even the observatory site with the discovery. In the first column of the table, an existing stand-alone article is linked in boldface, while (self-)redirects are never linked. Discoverers, discovery site and category are only linked if they differ from the preceding catalog entry.

Example

Designation			Discovery			Properties		Ref
Permanent	Provisional	Citation	Date	Site	Discoverer(s)	Category	Diam.
189001	4889 P-L	—	24 September 1960	Palomar	PLS	—	3.4 km	MPC · JPL
189002	6760 P-L	—	24 September 1960	Palomar	PLS	NYS	960 m	MPC · JPL
189003	3009 T-3	—	16 October 1977	Palomar	PLS	—	5.1 km	MPC · JPL
189004 Capys	3184 T-3	Capys	16 October 1977	Palomar	PLS	L5	12 km	MPC · JPL
189005	5176 T-3	—	16 October 1977	Palomar	PLS	—	3.5 km	MPC · JPL

The example above shows five catalog entries from one of the partial lists. All five asteroids were discovered at Palomar Observatory by the Palomar–Leiden survey (PLS). The MPC directly credits the survey's principal investigators, that is, the astronomers Cornelis van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels. (This is the only instance where the list of minor planets diverges from the Discovery Circumstances in the official MPC list.^[7]) 189004 Capys, discovered on 16 October 1977, is the only named minor planet among these five. Its background color indicates that it is a Jupiter trojan (from the Trojan camp at Jupiter's L₅), estimated to be approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. All other objects are smaller asteroids from the inner (white), central (light-grey) and outer regions (dark grey) of the asteroid belt. The provisional designation for all objects is an uncommon survey designation.

Designation

Main articles: Minor-planet designation and Provisional designation in astronomy § Minor planets

After discovery, minor planets generally receive a provisional designation, e.g. 1989 AC, then a leading sequential number in parentheses, e.g. (4179) 1989 AC, turning it into a permanent designation (numbered minor planet). Optionally, a name can be given, replacing the provisional part of the designation, e.g. 4179 Toutatis. (On Wikipedia, named minor planets also drop their parentheses.)

In modern times, a minor planet receives a sequential number only after it has been observed several times over at least 4 oppositions.^[8] Minor planets whose orbits are not (yet) precisely known are known by their provisional designation. This rule was not necessarily followed in earlier times, and some bodies received a number but subsequently became lost minor planets. The 2000 recovery of 719 Albert, which had been lost for nearly 89 years, eliminated the last numbered lost asteroid.^[9] Only after a number is assigned is the minor planet eligible to receive a name. Usually the discoverer has up to 10 years to pick a name; many minor planets now remain unnamed. Especially towards the end of the twentieth century, large-scale automated asteroid discovery programs such as LINEAR have increased the pace of discoveries so much that the vast majority of minor planets will most likely never receive names.

For these reasons, the sequence of numbers only approximately matches the timeline of discovery. In extreme cases, such as lost minor planets, there may be a considerable mismatch: for instance the high-numbered 69230 Hermes was originally discovered in 1937, but it was lost until 2003. Only after it was rediscovered could its orbit be established and a number assigned.

•   Spacewatch: 216,023 (29.2%)
•   LINEAR: 152,479 (20.6%)
•   Mt. Lemmon Srvy.: 127,337 (17.2%)
•   Pan-STARRS: 51,038 (6.9%)
•   NEAT: 49,327 (6.7%)
•   CSS: 34,085 (4.6%)
•   LONEOS: 23,514 (3.2%)
•   WISE: 5,890 (0.8%)
•   Palomar–Leiden Srvy.: 4,641 (0.6%)
•   Siding Spring Survey: 4,082 (0.6%)
•   All others: 71,584 (9.7%)

Top 10 discoverers of minor planets account for more than 90% of all discoveries (total of 740,000 numbered bodies, as of 28 September 2024, adjusted MPC-figures).^[10][11]

Discoverers

For a more comprehensive list, see List of minor planet discoverers.

The MPC credits more than 1,000 professional and amateur astronomers as discoverers of minor planets. Many of them have discovered only a few minor planets or even just co-discovered a single one. Moreover, a discoverer does not need to be a human being. There are about 300 programs, surveys and observatories credited as discoverers. Among these, a small group of U.S. programs and surveys actually account for most of all discoveries made so far (see pie chart). As the total of numbered minor planets is growing by the tens of thousands every year, all statistical figures are constantly changing. In contrast to the Top 10 discoverers displayed in this articles, the MPC summarizes the total of discoveries somewhat differently, that is by a distinct group of discoverers. For example, bodies discovered in the Palomar–Leiden Survey are directly credited to the program's principal investigators.

Discovery site

See also: List of observatory codes and List of minor planet discoverers § Discovering dedicated institutions

Observatories, telescopes and surveys that report astrometric observations of small Solar System bodies to the Minor Planet Center receive a numeric or alphanumeric MPC code such as 675 for the Palomar Observatory, or G96 for the Mount Lemmon Survey. On numbering, the MPC may directly credit such an observatory or program as the discoverer of an object, rather than one or several astronomers.

Category

Further information: List of minor-planet groups and Asteroid family § All families

In this catalog, minor planets are classified into one of 8 principal orbital groups and highlighted with a distinct color. These are:

Near-Earth obj.	MBA (inner)	MBA (outer)	Centaur
Mars-crosser	MBA (middle)	Jupiter trojan	Trans-Neptunian obj.
Unclassified

The vast majority of minor planets are evenly distributed between the inner-, central and outer parts of the asteroid belt, which are separated by the two Kirkwood gaps at 2.5 and 2.82 AU. Nearly 97.5% of all minor planets are main-belt asteroids (MBA), while Jupiter trojans, Mars-crossing and near-Earth asteroids each account for less than 1% of the overall population. Only a small number of distant minor planets, that is the centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects, have been numbered so far. In the partial lists, table column "category" further refines this principal grouping:

• main-belt asteroids show their family membership based on the synthetic hierarchical clustering method by Nesvorný (2014),^[12][a]
• resonant asteroids are displayed by their numerical ratio and include the Hildas (3:2), Cybeles (7:4), Thules (4:3) and Griquas (2:1), while the Jupiter trojans (1:1) display whether they belong to the Greek (L₄) or Trojan camp (L₅),^[13]
• Hungaria asteroids (H), are labelled in italics (H), when they are not members of the collisional family^[14]
• near-Earth objects are divided into the Aten (ATE), Amor (AMO), Apollo (APO), and Atira (ATI) group,^[b] with some of them being potentially hazardous asteroids (PHA),^[15] and/or larger than one kilometer in diameter (+1km) as determined by the MPC.^[14]
• trans-Neptunian objects are divided into dynamical subgroups including cubewanos (hot or cold), scattered disc objects, plutinos and other Neptunian resonances,^[16]
• comet-like and/or retrograde objects with a T_Jupiter value below 2 are tagged with damocloid,
• other unusual objects based on MPC's and Johnston's lists are labelled unusual,^[17]
• binary and trinary minor planets with companions are tagged with "moon" and link to their corresponding entry in minor-planet moon,^[18]
• objects with an exceptionally long or short rotation period are tagged with "slow" (period of 100+ hours) or "fast" (period of less than 2.2 hours) and link to their corresponding entry in List of slow rotators and List of fast rotators, respectively.^[19]
• minor planets which also received a periodic-comet number (such as 95P/Chiron for 2060 Chiron) link to the List of numbered comets

Principal orbital groups(c)	MPs (#)	MPs (%)	Distribution	Orbital criteria
Near-Earth object(a)	3,104	0.50%		q < 1.3 AU
Mars-crosser	6,180	1.00%		1.3 AU < q < 1.666 AU; a < 3.2 AU
MBA (inner)	195,710	31.74%		a < 2.5 AU; q > 1.666 AU
MBA (middle)	216,729	35.14%		2.5 AU < a < 2.82 AU; q > 1.666 AU
MBA (outer)	187,562	30.41%		2.82 AU < a < 4.6 AU; q > 1.666 AU
Jupiter trojan	6,300	1.02%		4.6 AU < a < 5.5 AU; e < 0.3
Centaur	158	0.03%		5.5 AU < a < 30.1 AU
Trans-Neptunian object	912	0.15%		a > 30.1 AU
Total (numbered)	616,690(b)	100%		Source: JPL's SBDB[20]

^(a) NEO-subgroups with number of members: Aten (255), Amor (1,275), Apollo (1,566) and Atira (8) asteroids.^[b]

^(b) Including 37 unclassified bodies: 6144 Kondojiro, 8373 Stephengould, 9767 Midsomer Norton, (18916) 2000 OG₄₄, (32511) 2001 NX₁₇, (96177) 1984 BC, (115916) 2003 WB₈, (136620) 1994 JC, (144870) 2004 MA₈, (241944) 2002 CU₁₄₇, (275618) 2000 AU₂₄₂, (301964) 2000 EJ₃₇, (306418) 1998 KK₅₆, (322713) 2000 KD₄₁, (363135) 2001 QQ₁₉₉, (393350) 1992 RN₁, (405058) 2001 TX₁₆, (406803) 2008 UX₆₄, (477587) 2010 JT₈₆, (487496) 2014 SE₂₈₈, (490171) 2008 UD₂₅₃, (494667) 2001 WX₁, (497009) 2003 BU₃₅, (497619) 2006 QL₃₉, (504160) 2006 SV₃₀₁, 514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela, (518509) 2006 FZ₅₁, (524114) 2000 SB₁, (526889) 2007 GH₆, (584530) 2017 GY₁₀, (612078) 1998 UQ₁, (612320) 2001 XE₁₀₄, (613709) 2007 CM₅₇, (613987) 2008 JO₂₀, (614590) 2009 XY₂₁, (669525) 2012 XO₁₄₄, (694001) 2015 PC₅₈ (colored as    for being unclassified).^[c]

^(c) This chart has been created using a classification scheme adopted from and with data provided by the JPL Small-Body Database.^[20][d]

Diameter

If available, a minor planet's mean diameter in meters (m) or kilometers (km) is taken from the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which the Small-Body Database has also adopted.^[21] Mean diameters are rounded to two significant figures if smaller than 100 kilometers. Estimates are in italics and calculated from a magnitude-to-diameter conversion, using an assumed albedo derived from the body's orbital parameters or, if available, from a family-specific mean albedo (also see asteroid family table).^[e]

Main index

This is an overview of all existing partial lists of numbered minor planets (LoMP). Each table stands for 100,000 minor planets, each cell for a specific partial list of 1,000 sequentially numbered bodies. The data is sourced from the Minor Planet Center.^[1] For an introduction, see § top.

Numberings 1–100,000

1–1000	1,001	2,001	3,001	4,001	5,001	6,001	7,001	8,001	9,001
10,001	11,001	12,001	13,001	14,001	15,001	16,001	17,001	18,001	19,001
20,001	21,001	22,001	23,001	24,001	25,001	26,001	27,001	28,001	29,001
30,001	31,001	32,001	33,001	34,001	35,001	36,001	37,001	38,001	39,001
40,001	41,001	42,001	43,001	44,001	45,001	46,001	47,001	48,001	49,001
50,001	51,001	52,001	53,001	54,001	55,001	56,001	57,001	58,001	59,001
60,001	61,001	62,001	63,001	64,001	65,001	66,001	67,001	68,001	69,001
70,001	71,001	72,001	73,001	74,001	75,001	76,001	77,001	78,001	79,001
80,001	81,001	82,001	83,001	84,001	85,001	86,001	87,001	88,001	89,001
90,001	91,001	92,001	93,001	94,001	95,001	96,001	97,001	98,001	99,001

Numberings 100,001–200,000

100,001	101,001	102,001	103,001	104,001	105,001	106,001	107,001	108,001	109,001
110,001	111,001	112,001	113,001	114,001	115,001	116,001	117,001	118,001	119,001
120,001	121,001	122,001	123,001	124,001	125,001	126,001	127,001	128,001	129,001
130,001	131,001	132,001	133,001	134,001	135,001	136,001	137,001	138,001	139,001
140,001	141,001	142,001	143,001	144,001	145,001	146,001	147,001	148,001	149,001
150,001	151,001	152,001	153,001	154,001	155,001	156,001	157,001	158,001	159,001
160,001	161,001	162,001	163,001	164,001	165,001	166,001	167,001	168,001	169,001
170,001	171,001	172,001	173,001	174,001	175,001	176,001	177,001	178,001	179,001
180,001	181,001	182,001	183,001	184,001	185,001	186,001	187,001	188,001	189,001
190,001	191,001	192,001	193,001	194,001	195,001	196,001	197,001	198,001	199,001

Numberings 200,001–300,000

200,001	201,001	202,001	203,001	204,001	205,001	206,001	207,001	208,001	209,001
210,001	211,001	212,001	213,001	214,001	215,001	216,001	217,001	218,001	219,001
220,001	221,001	222,001	223,001	224,001	225,001	226,001	227,001	228,001	229,001
230,001	231,001	232,001	233,001	234,001	235,001	236,001	237,001	238,001	239,001
240,001	241,001	242,001	243,001	244,001	245,001	246,001	247,001	248,001	249,001
250,001	251,001	252,001	253,001	254,001	255,001	256,001	257,001	258,001	259,001
260,001	261,001	262,001	263,001	264,001	265,001	266,001	267,001	268,001	269,001
270,001	271,001	272,001	273,001	274,001	275,001	276,001	277,001	278,001	279,001
280,001	281,001	282,001	283,001	284,001	285,001	286,001	287,001	288,001	289,001
290,001	291,001	292,001	293,001	294,001	295,001	296,001	297,001	298,001	299,001

Numberings 300,001–400,000

300,001	301,001	302,001	303,001	304,001	305,001	306,001	307,001	308,001	309,001
310,001	311,001	312,001	313,001	314,001	315,001	316,001	317,001	318,001	319,001
320,001	321,001	322,001	323,001	324,001	325,001	326,001	327,001	328,001	329,001
330,001	331,001	332,001	333,001	334,001	335,001	336,001	337,001	338,001	339,001
340,001	341,001	342,001	343,001	344,001	345,001	346,001	347,001	348,001	349,001
350,001	351,001	352,001	353,001	354,001	355,001	356,001	357,001	358,001	359,001
360,001	361,001	362,001	363,001	364,001	365,001	366,001	367,001	368,001	369,001
370,001	371,001	372,001	373,001	374,001	375,001	376,001	377,001	378,001	379,001
380,001	381,001	382,001	383,001	384,001	385,001	386,001	387,001	388,001	389,001
390,001	391,001	392,001	393,001	394,001	395,001	396,001	397,001	398,001	399,001

Numberings 400,001–500,000

400,001	401,001	402,001	403,001	404,001	405,001	406,001	407,001	408,001	409,001
410,001	411,001	412,001	413,001	414,001	415,001	416,001	417,001	418,001	419,001
420,001	421,001	422,001	423,001	424,001	425,001	426,001	427,001	428,001	429,001
430,001	431,001	432,001	433,001	434,001	435,001	436,001	437,001	438,001	439,001
440,001	441,001	442,001	443,001	444,001	445,001	446,001	447,001	448,001	449,001
450,001	451,001	452,001	453,001	454,001	455,001	456,001	457,001	458,001	459,001
460,001	461,001	462,001	463,001	464,001	465,001	466,001	467,001	468,001	469,001
470,001	471,001	472,001	473,001	474,001	475,001	476,001	477,001	478,001	479,001
480,001	481,001	482,001	483,001	484,001	485,001	486,001	487,001	488,001	489,001
490,001	491,001	492,001	493,001	494,001	495,001	496,001	497,001	498,001	499,001

Numberings 500,001–600,000

500,001	501,001	502,001	503,001	504,001	505,001	506,001	507,001	508,001	509,001
510,001	511,001	512,001	513,001	514,001	515,001	516,001	517,001	518,001	519,001
520,001	521,001	522,001	523,001	524,001	525,001	526,001	527,001	528,001	529,001
530,001	531,001	532,001	533,001	534,001	535,001	536,001	537,001	538,001	539,001
540,001	541,001	542,001	543,001	544,001	545,001	546,001	547,001	548,001	549,001
550,001	551,001	552,001	553,001	554,001	555,001	556,001	557,001	558,001	559,001
560,001	561,001	562,001	563,001	564,001	565,001	566,001	567,001	568,001	569,001
570,001	571,001	572,001	573,001	574,001	575,001	576,001	577,001	578,001	579,001
580,001	581,001	582,001	583,001	584,001	585,001	586,001	587,001	588,001	589,001
590,001	591,001	592,001	593,001	594,001	595,001	596,001	597,001	598,001	599,001

Numberings 600,001–700,000

600,001	601,001	602,001	603,001	604,001	605,001	606,001	607,001	608,001	609,001
610,001	611,001	612,001	613,001	614,001	615,001	616,001	617,001	618,001	619,001
620,001	621,001	622,001	623,001	624,001	625,001	626,001	627,001	628,001	629,001
630,001	631,001	632,001	633,001	634,001	635,001	636,001	637,001	638,001	639,001
640,001	641,001	642,001	643,001	644,001	645,001	646,001	647,001	648,001	649,001
650,001	651,001	652,001	653,001	654,001	655,001	656,001	657,001	658,001	659,001
660,001	661,001	662,001	663,001	664,001	665,001	666,001	667,001	668,001	669,001
670,001	671,001	672,001	673,001	674,001	675,001	676,001	677,001	678,001	679,001
680,001	681,001	682,001	683,001	684,001	685,001	686,001	687,001	688,001	689,001
690,001	691,001	692,001	693,001	694,001	695,001	696,001	697,001	698,001	699,001

Numberings 700,001–800,000

700,001	701,001	702,001	703,001	704,001	705,001	706,001	707,001	708,001	709,001
710,001	711,001	712,001	713,001	714,001	715,001	716,001	717,001	718,001	719,001
720,001	721,001	722,001	723,001	724,001	725,001	726,001	727,001	728,001	729,001
730,001	731,001	732,001	733,001	734,001	735,001	736,001	737,001	738,001	739,001
740,001	741,001	742,001	743,001	744,001	745,001	746,001	747,001	748,001	749,001
750,001	751,001	752,001	753,001	754,001	755,001	756,001	757,001	758,001	759,001
760,001	761,001	762,001	763,001	764,001	765,001	766,001	767,001	768,001	769,001
770,001	771,001	772,001	773,001	774,001	775,001	776,001	777,001	778,001	779,001
780,001	781,001	782,001	783,001	784,001	785,001	786,001	787,001	788,001	789,001
790,001	791,001	792,001	793,001	794,001	795,001	796,001	797,001	798,001	799,001

Specific lists

For an overview, see Minor planet, Category:Lists of minor planets, and Category:Lists of asteroids.

Euler diagram showing the types of bodies in the Solar System (see Small Solar System body).

The following are lists of minor planets by physical properties, orbital properties, or discovery circumstances:

• List of exceptional asteroids (physical properties)
  • List of slow rotators (minor planets)
  • List of fast rotators (minor planets)
  • List of tumblers (small Solar System bodies)
• List of instrument-resolved minor planets
• List of Jupiter trojans (Greek camp)
• List of Jupiter trojans (Trojan camp)
• List of minor planets visited by spacecraft
• List of minor planet moons
• List of minor-planet groups
• List of named minor planets (alphabetical)
• List of named minor planets (numerical)
• List of possible dwarf planets
• List of centaurs (small Solar System bodies)
• List of trans-Neptunian objects
• List of unnumbered minor planets
  • List of unnumbered trans-Neptunian objects
• Meanings of minor planet names
  • List of minor planets named after people
  • List of minor planets named after places
  • List of minor planets named after rivers

See also

• Lists of astronomical objects
• Binary asteroid
• Dwarf planets – top ten most likely: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, Gonggong, Quaoar, Sedna, Ceres, Orcus, Salacia
• Kuiper belt (A major ring of bodies in the Solar System, around 30-60 AU and home to Pluto)
• Minor-planet moon
• Trans-Neptunian object

Other lists

• List of comets
• Planet § Objects formerly considered planets

Notes

1. There are two sources used to determine asteroid families by the synthetic hierarchical clustering method. The first one, Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families (D. Nesvorný, 2014), is used for asteroids up to number 393,347. The second one is from the Asteroid Dynamic Site (AstDyS) and covers the individual asteroid family membership for bodies above that number (A. Milani, Z. Knežević, 2014), including all listed bodies that have been numbered since last publication in 2018. Following 8 families from latter were mapped to family names of former: Hertha→Nysa, Minerva→Gefion, Klytaemnestra→Telramund, Lydia→Padua, Innes→Rafita, Zdenekhorsky→Nemesis, Klumpkea→Tirela, Gantrisch→Lixiaohua, Harig→Witt. All other families not listed by Nesvorný at AstDyS do not show an abbreviated family name with a linked "Family Identification Number" (FIN). Instead, listed entries for such members give the designation of their parent body, e.g. (5) for 5 Astraea.
2. Split-up of NEOs into Amor, Aten, Apollo and Atira asteroid is based on the orbital criteria given in adjunct table. The data is sourced from JPL Small-Body Orbital Elements "Numbered Asteroids (50 MB)" file
3. There are a few minor planets that remain unclassified based on the defined orbital criteria. At least five of these bodies have a semi-major axis too large to be an outer main-belt asteroid, and an orbit too eccentric to be classified as a Jupiter trojan (JPL classifies these bodies simply as "asteroids", while the MPC, which never distinguishes between inner, outer and middle MBAs, classifies them as "main-belt asteroids"). Other unclassified minor planets include Mars-crossers (as per MPC) with a semi-major axis of that of an outer-MBA (as per JPL).
4. This table adopts the orbital criteria used by the JPL Small-Body Database, with the exception of (1.) using a different limit to categorize asteroids of the intermediate main belt (i.e. a = 2.5–2.82 AU), and (2.) adding another orbital criteria to outer MBAs (q > 1.666 AU).
   The values for an object's perihelion and aphelion need to be derived from the semi-major axis and the eccentricity as they are not provided in the data source (q = a(1-e); Q = a(1+e)).
5. Diameters are calculated as a function of absolute magnitude (H) and geometric albedo (p) as documented at CNEOS. While "H" is taken from the Ascii files at the Small Body Data Base, the assumed albedo is taken from an asteroid-family specific figure (Nesvorny, synthetic HCM v.3, as shown in table) or, alternatively – for background asteroids, Jupiter trojans, near-Earth and distant objects – from the body's orbital parameters (as per 2. Taxonomic Class, orbital class, and albedo at the LCDB and/or Johnston's Archive). This is: 0.20 (inner MBAs), 0.14 (NEOs), 0.057 (outer MBAs and Jupiter trojans), 0.10 (middle MBAs with a semi-major axis between 2.6 and 2.7 AU), 0.09 (centaurs and TNOs). The conversion formula for a given albedo and abs. magnitude is: pow(10, (3.1236 − (0.5 × log10(p)) − (0.2 × H))).

References

1. "Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets". Minor Planet Center. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
2. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
3. "Latest Published Data". Minor Planet Center. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
4. "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 24 October 2022.
5. Jones, R. Lynne; Juric, Mario; Ivezic, Zeljko (January 2016). "Asteroid Discovery and Characterization with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope". Asteroids: New Observations. 318: 282–292. arXiv:1511.03199. Bibcode:2016IAUS..318..282J. doi:10.1017/S1743921315008510. S2CID 8193676.
6. Bidstrup, P. R.; Andersen, A. C.; Haack, H.; Michelsen, R. (August 2008). "How to detect another 10 trillion small Main Belt asteroids". Physica Scripta. 130: 014027. Bibcode:2008PhST..130a4027B. doi:10.1088/0031-8949/2008/T130/014027. S2CID 121429332.
7. "Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (185001)–(190000)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
8. An opposition is the time when a body is at its furthest apparent point from the Sun, and in this case is defined as the time when an asteroid is far enough from the Sun to be observed from the Earth. In most cases, this is about 4 to 6 months a year. Some notable minor planets are exceptions to this rule, such as 367943 Duende.
9. Cowen, Ron (1 November 2002). "Astronomers Rediscover Long-Lost Asteroid". Science News. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
10. "Data Available from the Minor Planet Center: Discovery circumstances of the numbered minor planets, NumberedMPs.txt (52 MB)". Minor Planet Center. 27 October 2022.
11. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 17 September 2022.
12. "Small Bodies Data Ferret". Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
13. "List Of Jupiter Trojans". Minor Planet Center. 12 June 2022.
14. "Data Available from the Minor Planet Center – MPCORB.DAT". Minor Planet Center. 27 October 2022. (doc)
15. "List of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)". Minor Planet Center. 21 June 2022.
16. Johnston, Wm. Robert (2 January 2022). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
17. "List Of Other Unusual Objects". Minor Planet Center. 21 June 2022.
18. Johnston, Wm. Robert (18 June 2022). "Asteroids with Satellites". Johnston's Archive.
19. Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.; Pravec, Petr (July 2009). "The asteroid lightcurve database". Icarus. 202 (1): 134–146. Bibcode:2009Icar..202..134W. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.02.003. (LCDB query form)
20. "JPL Small-Body Orbital Elements "Numbered Asteroids (68.6 MB)"". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
21. "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos". PDS Small Bodies Node. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

Further reading

• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, 5th ed.: Prepared on Behalf of Commission 20 Under the Auspices of the International Astronomical Union, Lutz D. Schmadel, ISBN 3-540-00238-3
• The Names of the Minor Planets, Paul Herget, 1968, OCLC 224288991

External links

• How Many Solar System Bodies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Small-Body Database
• SBN Small Bodies Data Archive
• JPL Minor Planet Database for physical and orbital data (of any Small Solar System Body or dwarf planet)
• Scott Manley's timelapse animation of Asteroid Discovery 1980–2012 on YouTube (min. 3:13)

Minor Planet Center

• Lists and plots: Minor Planets
• MPC Discovery Circumstances (minor planets by number)
• CNEOS, Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, NASA
• PDS Asteroid Data Archive
• Asteroid Hazards, Part 1: What Makes an Asteroid a Hazard? on YouTube (min. 6:04)
• Asteroid Hazards, Part 2: The Challenge of Detection on YouTube (min. 7:14)
• Asteroid Hazards, Part 3: Finding the Path on YouTube (min. 5:38)