Meanings of minor-planet names

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/meanings-of-minor-planet-names

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who wrote Meanings of minor-planet names?The International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN)
2. What is the total number of numbered minor planets?Exceeds 600,000 as of June 2024
3. What is the lowest numbered unnamed minor planet?(4596) 1981 QB
4. What do astronomers do when they find a new asteroid?When a new asteroid is found, the astronomer who discovered it can propose a name. The International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature reviews it and, if it follows the rules, gives it an official name.
5. Why are some asteroids named after people?Many asteroid names honor people, especially astronomers, because they have helped us learn more about space.

Minor Planet: A celestial body orbiting the Sun that is smaller than a planet but larger than a meteoroid, commonly referred to as an asteroid.
Asteroid Belt: A torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars, that is occupied by a great many irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets.
WGSBN: The Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature, an official committee of the International Astronomical Union responsible for the naming of minor planets and comets.
Nomenclature: The system of names or terms used in a particular branch of knowledge or science.