List of astronomical objects named after people

This is a list of astronomical objects named after people. While topological features on Solar System bodies — such as craters, mountains, and valleys — are often named after famous or historical individuals, many stars and deep-sky objects are named after the individual(s) who discovered or otherwise studied it.

This list does not include astronomical objects named after mythological or fictional characters.

Clusters and groups

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Stars

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Galaxies

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Galaxy clusters and superclusters

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Comets

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Comet names are often given for the astronomer(s) who discovered it, but they can also be for scientists who gave significant contributions towards their study.

Interstellar comets

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Great comets

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Periodic comets

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Craters

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Galaxies

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In most cases, the named individual was the person who discovered the galaxy, who first brought attention to it, or who first studied it scientifically. Many of the brighter galaxies visible from the Northern Hemisphere have Messier numbers, named after Charles Messier. There are a few other comprehensive catalogs that assign the cataloguer's name to galaxies. For instance, Markarian galaxies, named after Benjamin Markarian, are galaxies with excess blue and ultraviolet emission;[5] galaxies in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies are assigned an Arp number after Halton Arp who produced the catalog; etc. Objects in these catalogs are excluded below, except in cases where they carry the name of an additional person.

Minor planets and Solar System features

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Nebulae

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Stars

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Other astronomical features

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Asterisms - Napoleon's Hat, Picot 1 | Houston Astronomical Society". www.astronomyhouston.org. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. ^ "SOCO - Sentinel of the Caprock Observatory". cat-star.org. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ^ T. W. Webb, Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume 2: The Stars, page 145 (Wreath of stars)
  4. ^ "Burbidge's Chain". www.astronomy-mall.com. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. ^ B. E. Markarian (1967), A catalog of Markarian galaxies, Astrofizika 3, 55
  6. ^ "DOCdb - Baxendell's Nebula". www.docdb.net. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  7. ^ Steinicke, Wolfgang (2010). Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters: From Herschel to Dreyer's New General Catalogue. Cambridge University Press. p. 384. ISBN 9781139490108.
  8. ^ Sollima, A.; Paz, A. Gil de; Martinez-Delgado, D.; Gabany, R. J.; Gallego-Laborda, J. J.; Hallas, T. (1 June 2010). "A multi-wavelength analysis of M 81: insight on the nature of Arp's loop". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 516: A83. arXiv:1004.1610. Bibcode:2010A&A...516A..83S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014085.
  9. ^ Dottori, Horacio A.; Fourcade, Carlos R. (1973). "The object Fourcade Figueroa, a shred associated with NGC 5128?". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 23: 405–409. Bibcode:1973A&A....23..405D. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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