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List of minor planet discoverers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This is a list of notable minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). As of 22 October 2025, the discovery of over 800,000 numbered minor planets are credited to 2,186 astronomers, observatories, telescopes or surveys (see § Discovering institutions).[1]

On how a discovery is made, see observations of small Solar System bodies.

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Discovering astronomers

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The table consist of the following fields:

  • Astronomers: links to the corresponding article about the discovering astronomer on Wikipedia.
  • Discoveries: displays the total number of discovered and co-discovered minor planets made by the discoverer (numbered bodies only). It links to the corresponding "Discovery by..." category, which are subcategories of Category:Discoveries by astronomer. These categories do not contain discoveries for which no page on Wikipedia exists. Astronomers with only a few discoveries sometimes do not have their own discovery-category (redlinks). For those who have discovered only one single minor planet, the link in the discovery column directly points to the corresponding entry in the list of minor planets.
  • DOB–DOD: displays the astronomer's date of birth and, if applicable, death.
  • Name(s) at MPC: displays the name of the discoverer as used by the MPC, where the abbreviated first name is written before the family name. Some discoverers have multiple names due to inconsistencies and typos.
  • Asteroid(s): minor-planet discoverers are often honored with the naming of (one or several) asteroids by their colleagues. This column gives links to those asteroids.
More information Astronomer, Discoveries ...
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Discovering institutions

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Many discoveries are credited to an institution, like an observatory, rather than to one or several individuals.

The table consist of the following fields:

  • Institution: links to the corresponding article about the discovering observatory on Wikipedia.
  • Discoveries: displays the total number of discovered and co-discovered minor planets made by the observatory (numbered bodies only). It links to the corresponding "Discovery by..." category, which are subcategories of Category:Astronomical discoveries by institution. These categories do not contain discoveries for which no page on Wikipedia exists. Observatories with only a few discoveries sometimes do not have their own discovery-category (redlinks). For those who have discovered only one single minor planet, the link in the discovery column directly points to the corresponding entry in the list of minor planets.
  • Observatory code: displays the alphanumeric IAU code(s) for the institution.
  • Name(s) at MPC: displays the name of the observatory as used by the MPC. Some institutions have multiple names due to inconsistencies and typos.

Only observatories/institutions that are notable and have their own Wikipedia article are included.

More information Institution, Discoveries ...
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See also

References

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