Minor-planet designation
NUMBER-NAME COMBINATION ASSIGNED TO MINOR PLANETS
Minor Planet Numbers; Minor Planet Number; MPC number; MPC Numbers; MPC Catalogue Number; MPC Catalogue Numbers; Minor planet number; Minor planet name; Minor Planet Names; Minor planet names; Minor planet designations; Minor-planet names; Minorplanet designation; Asteroid designation; Minor planet designation
A formal minor-planet designation is, in its final form, a number–name combination given to a minor planet (asteroid, centaur, trans-Neptunian object and dwarf planet but not comet). Such designation always features a leading number (catalog or IAU number) assigned to a body once its orbital path is sufficiently secured (so-called "numbering").