Dictionary of Minor Planet Names - Hardcover

Schmadel, Dr. Lutz D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3540572600 ISBN 13: 9783540572602

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K, 1993

Synopsis

Until recently, minor planet name citations were scattered in the astronomical literature, and the origin of many names remained obscure. IAU Commission 20 in 1988 established a study group to elucidate the meanings of asteroid names. Under the chairmanship of the author, some 20 scientists took part in the preparation of the names database. In addition to being of practical value for identification purposes, minor planet names also provide a most interesting historical insight into the work of astronomers.

About this title

Review

“The new sixth edition of Schmadel’s ‘Dictionary of Minor Planet Names’, has now been expanded to 16,683 named minor planets, and is published for the first time in 2 volumes with 1452 pages. ... Highly recommendable to libraries, astronomers and amateur astronomers alike!” (Olaf Ninnemann, zbMATH 1317.85001, 2015)

“This is by any standards a quite excellent reference book: comprehensive, accurate, consistently edited and elegantly designed and produced. While it is obviously geared to any or all members of the astronomical community (including libraries serving them) it also has a much wider fascination for all those of us fascinated by names themselves and by the processes of naming objects.” (Stuart James, Reference Reviews, Vol. 28 (3), 2014)

“German astronomer and historian Schmadel (Heidelberg Univ.) has published a sixth edition ... of this annotated compilation of the named minor planets, with more than 7,000 entries added since the last edition. ... Following the planet’s name is a short descriptive history of whom the planet was named for. ... Although this book is intended for special users, its organization and annotations can give budding scientists a glimpse into the history of astronomy. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals/practitioners.” (R. J. Havlik, Choice, Vol. 50 (7), March, 2013)

From the Back Cover

Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Fifth Edition, is the official reference for the field of the IAU, which serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and any surface features on them. The accelerating rate of the discovery of minor planets has not only made a new edition of this established compendium necessary but has also significantly altered its scope: this thoroughly revised edition concentrates on the approximately 10,000 minor planets that carry a name. It provides authoritative information about the basis for all names of minor planets. In addition to being of practical value for identification purposes, this collection provides a most interesting historical insight into the work of those astronomers who over two centuries vested their affinities in a rich and colorful variety of ingenious names, from heavenly goddesses to more prosaic constructions. The fifth edition serves as the primary reference, with plans for complementary booklets with newly named bodies to be issued every three years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3540572600
• ISBN 13: 9783540572602
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 750