List of minor planet discoverers
This is a list of notable minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets., the discovery of over 800,000 numbered minor planets are credited to 2,186 astronomers, observatories, telescopes or surveys.
Discovering astronomers
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. 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. 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 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: minor-planet discoverers are often honored with the naming of asteroids by their colleagues. This column gives links to those asteroids.
| Astronomer | Discoveries | Name at MPC | Asteroid | |
| Hiroshi Abe | 28 | 1958–pres. | H. Abe | |
| Christopher Aikman | 6 | 1943–pres. | G. C. L. Aikman | |
| Makio Akiyama | 16 | 1950–pres. | M. Akiyama | |
| Vladimir Albitsky | 10 | 1891–1952 | V. Albitskij | |
| Gregory Scott Aldering | 4 | 1962–pres. | G. Aldering | |
| Heikki A. Alikoski | 13 | 1912–1997 | H. Alikoski | |
| Jeff T. Alu | 25 | 1966–pres. | J. Alu | |
| Leonard L. Amburgey | 2 | 1945–pres. | L. L. Amburgey | — |
| A. David Andrews | 1 | 1933–pres. | A. D. Andrews | — |
| Milan Antal | 17 | 1935–1999 | M. Antal | |
| 4 | 1920–2012 | P. Antolini | — | |
| Pierre Antonini | 35 | 1933–pres. | P. Antonini | |
| Masakatsu Aoki | 2 | 1957–pres. | M. Aoki | — |
| 127 | 1943–pres. | R. Apitzsch | ||
| Masaru Arai | 45 | 1952–pres. | M. Arai | |
| Hiroshi Araki | 3 | 1935–pres. | H. Araki | |
| Sylvain Arend | 51 | 1902–1992 | S. J. Arend | |
| Mark Armstrong | 2 | 1958–pres. | M. Armstrong | — |
| Atsuo Asami | 7 | n.a. | A. Asami | — |
| David J. Asher | 10 | 1966–pres. | D. J. Asher | |
| Karl Augustesen | 6 | 1945–pres. | K. Augustesen | |
| Walter Baade | 10 | 1893–1960 | W. Baade | |
| Ulrika Babiaková | 14 | 1976–2002 | U. Babiakova | |
| 1968–pres. | P. Bacci | |||
| Solon Irving Bailey | 1 | 1854–1931 | S. I. Bailey | — |
| David D. Balam | 276 | n.a. | D. D. Balam | |
| Loren C. Ball | 112 | 1948–pres. | L. Ball | |
| Thomas J. Balonek | 9 | n.a. | T. J. Balonek | — |
| Odette Bancilhon | 1 | 1908–1998 | O. Bancilhon | |
| Yoshiaki Banno | 1 | 1952–1991 | Y. Banno | |
| n.a. | K. M. Barkume | — | ||
| 5 | n.a. | E. Barr | — | |
| Maria A. Barucci | 3 | n.a. | M. A. Barucci | |
| James Bauer | 1968–pres. | J. Bauer | ||
| 1931–pres. | I. Bauersima | — | ||
| 15 | 1930–2007 | J. M. Baur | ||
| 645 | 1973–pres. | A. C. Becker | ||
| Sergey Belyavsky | 36 | 1883–1953 | S. Beljavskij | — |
| Graham E. Bell | 59 | n.a. | G. Bell | — |
| 7 | n.a. | Yu. A. Belyaev | — | |
| 1959–pres. | Z. Benkhaldoun | |||
| Fabrizio Bernardi | 55 | 1972–pres. | F. Bernardi | |
| 105 | 1966–pres. | L. Bernasconi | ||
| Wolf Bickel | 1253 | 1942–pres. | W. Bickel | |
| Guillaume Bigourdan | 1 | 1851–1932 | G. Bigourdan | — |
| Richard P. Binzel | 3 | 1958–pres. | R. P. Binzel | |
| 9 | 1939–2010 | K. Birkle | ||
| 2 | 1963–pres. | M. Birlan | ||
| Andrea Boattini | 907 | 1969–pres. | A. Boattini | |
| Henri M. J. Boffin | 11 | n.a. | H. M. J. Boffin H. Boffin | — |
| Alfred Bohrmann | 9 | 1904–2000 | A. Bohrmann | |
| Tom Boles | 1944–pres. | T. Boles | ||
| Gennadiy Borisov | 7 | 1962–pres. | G. Borisov | |
| Freimut Börngen | 539 | 1930–2021 | F. Borngen | |
| Alphonse Borrelly | 18 | 1842–1926 | A. Borrelly | |
| Edward L. G. Bowell | 572 | 1943–pres. | E. Bowell | |
| Louis Boyer | 40 | 1901–1999 | L. Boyer | |
| n.a. | J. L. Brady | — | ||
| Alexis Brandeker | 5 | 1974–pres. | A. Brandeker | — |
| John Broughton | 1220 | 1952–pres. | J. Broughton | |
| Michael E. Brown | 32 | 1965–pres. | M. E. Brown | |
| Ladislav Brožek | 23 | 1952–pres. | L. Brozek | — |
| Marc Buie | 1023 | 1958–pres. | M. W. Buie | |
| Bella A. Burnasheva | 13 | 1944–pres. | B. A. Burnasheva | |
| Robert Burnham Jr. | 1931–1993 | R. Burnham | ||
| Joseph A. Burns | 1941–pres. | J. A. Burns | ||
| Schelte J. Bus | 1688 | 1956–pres. | S. J. Bus | |
| 9 | 1982–pres. | L. Buzzi | ||
| 3 | 1928–1994 | M. P. Candy | ||
| Luigi Carnera | 16 | 1875–1962 | L. Carnera | |
| 1 | 1902–1981 | R. Carrasco | — | |
| Claudio Casacci | 8 | 1958–pres. | C. Casacci | |
| Vincenzo Silvano Casulli | 220 | 1944–2018 | V. S. Casulli | |
| Gabriele Cattani | 18 | n.a. | G. Cattani | — |
| Marco Cavagna | 19 | 1958–2005 | M. Cavagna | |
| Kazimieras Černis | 198 | 1958–pres. | K. Cernis K. Černis | — |
| Vincenzo Cerulli | 1 | 1859–1927 | V. Cerulli | |
| Carlos Ulrrico Cesco | 19 | 19?–1987 | C. U. Cesco | |
| Jean Chacornac | 6 | 1823–1873 | J. Chacornac | |
| Zhang Jiaxiang | 1932–2019 | C.-H. Chang | ||
| Zhāng Yùzhé | 1902–1986 | Y. C. Chang | ||
| Auguste Charlois | 99 | 1864–1910 | A. Charlois | |
| Jun Chen | 11 | n.a. | J. Chen | — |
| 3 | 1980–pres. | T. Chen | ||
| Lyudmila Chernykh | 267 | 1935–2017 | L. I. Chernykh | |
| Nikolai Chernykh | 537 | 1931–2004 | N. S. Chernykh | |
| Dennis K. Chesney | 38 | n.a. | D. K. Chesney | — |
| Dmitry Chestnov | 33 | n.a. | D. Chestnov D. N. Chestnov | — |
| Paolo Chiavenna | 15 | n.a. | P. Chiavenna | — |
| 112 | n.a. | B. Christophe | — | |
| 2 | 1926–1994 | J. Churms | — | |
| Edwin Foster Coddington | 3 | 1870–1950 | E. F. Coddington | — |
| Jérôme Eugène Coggia | 5 | 1849–1919 | J. Coggia | |
| 51 | n.a. | M. Collins | — | |
| Josep Comas i Solà | 11 | 1868–1937 | J. Comas Sola | , |
| Paul G. Comba | 701 | 1926–2017 | P. G. Comba | |
| Martin Connors | 1954–pres. | M. Connors | ||
| Walter R. Cooney Jr. | 47 | 1962–pres. | W. R. Cooney Jr. | |
| Pablo Cottenot | 1 | n.a. | P. Cottenot | — |
| Fernand Courty | 2 | 1862–1921 | F. Courty | — |
| Philip Herbert Cowell | 1870–1949 | P. H. Cowell | ||
| Leland E. Cunningham | 4 | 1904–1989 | L. E. Cunningham | |
| Heber Doust Curtis | 1872–1942 | H. D. Curtis | — | |
| Germano D'Abramo | 3 | 1973–pres. | G. D'Abramo | |
| Heinrich Louis d'Arrest | 1 | 1822–1875 | H. d'Arrest | |
| Donald R. Davis | 6 | n.a. | D. Davis | |
| Denis Denisenko | 1971–pres. | D. Denisenko | — | |
| Leo Anton Karl de Ball | 1 | 1853–1916 | K. de Ball | — |
| 28 | n.a. | P. De Cat | — | |
| Annibale de Gasparis | 9 | 1819–1892 | A. de Gasparis | |
| José De Queiroz | 6 | 1954–pres. | J. De Queiroz J. D. Queiroz | |
| Charles P. de Saint-Aignan | 12 | 1977–pres. | C. P. de Saint-Aignan | |
| Giovanni de Sanctis | 42 | 1949–pres. | G. De Sanctis | |
| Henri Debehogne | 744 | 1928–2007 | H. Debehogne | |
| 124 | 1961–pres. | J. Dellinger | ||
| Eugène Joseph Delporte | 66 | 1882–1955 | E. Delporte | |
| Audrey C. Delsanti | 2 | 1976–pres. | A. C. Delsanti A. Dalsanti | |
| 21 | n.a. | C. Demeautis s C. Demeautis es C. Demeautis | ||
| Alexander Nikolaevich Deutsch | 1 | 1901–1986 | A. Deutsch | — |
| Dennis di Cicco | 60 | 1950–pres. | D. di Cicco | |
| Aldo Di Clemente | 1948–pres. | A. Di Clemente | ||
| Andrea Di Paola | 14 | 1970–pres. | A. Di Paola A. D. Paola | |
| 7 | 1961–pres. | M. Di Sora | ||
| 2 | 1908–1982 | W. Dieckvoss | ||
| 1962–2019 | A. Dimai | |||
| Anlaug Amanda Djupvik | n.a. | A. A. Kaas | — | |
| Petar Đurković | 2 | 1908–1981 | P. Djurkovic | — |
| 1927–2004 | J. Dobrzycki | — | ||
| 22 | 1959–pres. | S. Donati | ||
| 2 | 1968–pres. | A. Doressoundiram | ||
| 5 | 1927–1998 | F. Dossin | — | |
| Raymond Smith Dugan | 16 | 1878–1940 | R. S. Dugan | |
| R. Scott Dunbar | 11 | n.a. | R. S. Dunbar S. Dunbar | |
| 4 | 1952–pres. | P. Dupouy C. R. P. Dupouy | ||
| 62 | 1961–pres. | D. T. Durig | — | |
| Marino Dusić | 2 | n.a. | M. Dusic | — |
| 43 | 1951–pres. | I. Eglitis I. Egliti | ||
| Leonid Elenin | 480 | 1981–pres. | L. Elenin | — |
| James L. Elliot | 1 | 1943–2011 | J. L. Elliot | |
| Eric Walter Elst | 3885 | 1936–2022 | E. W. Elst E. Elst | |
| Kin Endate | 637 | 1960–pres. | K. Endate | |
| Emil Ernst | 1 | 1889–1942 | E. Ernst | — |
| James Ferguson | 3 | 1797–1867 | J. Ferguson | |
| Rafael Ferrando | 305 | 1966–pres. | R. Ferrando R. Ferrando | |
| Walter Ferreri | 15 | 1948–pres. | W. Ferreri | |
| 7 | 1978–pres. | M. Fiedler | — | |
| 46 | n.a. | A. Fitzsimmons | ||
| Wilhelm Julius Foerster | 1 | 1832–1921 | W. Forster | |
| Giuseppe Forti | 50 | 1939–2007 | G. Forti | |
| Royal Harwood Frost | 1 | 1879–1950 | R. H. Frost | — |
| Tetsuya Fujii | 24 | 1960–pres. | T. Fujii | |
| Toshimasa Furuta | 82 | n.a. | T. Furuta | — |
| Adrián Galád | 89 | 1970–pres. | A. Galad A. Galád | |
| Gordon J. Garradd | 39 | 1959–pres. | G. J. Garradd | |
| Bruce L. Gary | 1939–pres. | B. Gary | ||
| Tom Gehrels | 4625 | 1925–2011 | T. Gehrels | |
| 1 | 1967–pres. | A. R. Gibbs | ||
| Henry L. Giclas | 17 | 1910–2007 | H. L. Giclas | |
| Alan C. Gilmore | 44 | n.a. | A. C. Gilmore | |
| Brett J. Gladman | 25 | 1966–pres. | B. Gladman | |
| Hermann Goldschmidt | 14 | 1802–1866 | H. Goldschmidt | |
| François Gonnessiat | 2 | 1856–1934 | F. Gonnessiat | |
| Vittorio Goretti | 32 | 1939–2016 | V. Goretti | |
| Paul Götz | 20 | 1883–1962 | P. Gotz | |
| Andrew Graham | 1 | 1815–1908 | A. Graham | — |
| 4 | 1973–pres. | T. Grav | ||
| 10 | 1949–pres. | M. Griesser | ||
| Ian P. Griffin | 33 | 1958–pres. | I. P. Griffin I. Griffin | — |
| n.a. | G. Grueff | — | ||
| Daria Guidetti | 2 | 1978–pres. | D. Guidetti | |
| 4 | n.a. | C. Gustava | — | |
| 1 | 1886–1952 | K. Gyllenberg | — | |
| Karl Ludwig Harding | 1 | 1765–1843 | K. Harding | |
| 2 | 1921–2014 | E. A. Harlan | — | |
| Malcolm Hartley | 3 | 1947–pres. | M. Hartley | |
| Johannes Franz Hartmann | 3 | 1865–1936 | J. Hartmann | — |
| Takashi Hasegawa | n.a. | T. Hasegawa | — | |
| David Healy | 279 | 1936–2011 | D. Healy | |
| 19 | 1949–pres. | Z. Heiner | — | |
| Joseph Helffrich | 13 | 1890–1971 | J. Helffrich | |
| Eleanor F. Helin | 920 | 1932–2009 | E. F. Helin | |
| Karl Ludwig Hencke | 2 | 1793–1866 | K. L. Hencke | |
| Arne Henden | 1950–pres. | A. Henden | ||
| Prosper-Mathieu Henry | 7 | 1849–1903 | P. M. Henry | — |
| Paul-Pierre Henry | 7 | 1848–1905 | P. P. Henry | — |
| Carl W. Hergenrother | 33 | 1973–pres. | C. W. Hergenrother | |
| 2 | n.a. | K. Herkenhoff | — | |
| Ejnar Hertzsprung | 2 | 1873–1967 | E. Hertzsprung | |
| 7 | 1949–pres. | R. Hill | ||
| John Russell Hind | 10 | 1823–1895 | J. R. Hind | |
| Masanori Hirasawa | 52 | n.a. | M. Hirasawa | — |
| Sebastian Florian Hönig | 585 | 1977–pres. | S. F. Hoenig S. Hoenig S. F. Hönig | |
| Cuno Hoffmeister | 5 | 1892–1968 | C. Hoffmeister | , |
| Matthew J. Holman | 14 | 1967–pres. | M. J. Holman | |
| Robert Holmes | 395 | 1956–pres. | R. Holmes | |
| Henry E. Holt | 688 | 1929–2019 | H. E. Holt | |
| Paulo R. Holvorcem | 824 | 1967–pres. | P. R. Holvorcem | |
| Felix Hormuth | 246 | 1975–pres. | F. Hormuth | |
| Kamil Hornoch | 4 | 1972–pres. | K. Hornoch | |
| 3 | 1932–pres. | L. Houziaux | ||
| Edwin Hubble | 1889–1953 | E. Hubble | ||
| John Huchra | 1948–2010 | J. Huchra | ||
| Gary Hug | 433 | n.a. | G. Hug | — |
| Kiichirō Furukawa | 92 | 1929–2016 | K. Hurukawa | |
| 1908–1997 | K. Inkeri | — | ||
| Shigeru Inoda | 17 | 1955–2008 | S. Inoda | |
| Michael J. Irwin | 8 | n.a. | M. J. Irwin | — |
| Kōichi Itagaki | 3 | 1947–pres. | K. Itagaki | |
| Kazuyoshi Itō | n.a. | K. Ito | — | |
| Miguel Itzigsohn | 15 | ?–1978 | M. Itzigsohn | |
| Violeta G. Ivanova | 14 | n.a. | V. G. Ivanova V. Ivanova | |
| 43 | 1961–pres. | Y. Ivashchenko | — | |
| Masayuki Iwamoto | 6 | 1954–pres. | M. Iwamoto | |
| Shun-ei Izumikawa | 2 | n.a. | S. Izumikawa | — |
| Cyril Jackson | 72 | 1903–1988 | C. Jackson | |
| 7 | n.a. | C. Jacques | — | |
| 18 | 1959–pres. | J. Jahn | ||
| 54 | 1963–pres. | R. Jedicke | ||
| Hamilton M. Jeffers | 1893–1976 | H. M. Jeffers | ||
| Benjamin Jekhowsky | 12 | 1881–1975 | B. Jekhovsky | |
| Poul Jensen | 98 | n.a. | P. Jensen | |
| David C. Jewitt | 57 | 1958–pres. | D. C. Jewitt | |
| Ernest Leonard Johnson | 18 | ?–1977 | E. L. Johnson | — |
| Amy B. Jordan | 1 | n.a. | A. B. Jordan | — |
| Charles W. Juels | 475 | 1944–2009 | C. W. Juels | |
| Mario Jurić | 125 | 1979–pres. | M. Juric | — |
| Tetsuo Kagawa | 115 | 1969–pres. | T. Kagawa | |
| Franz Kaiser | 21 | 1891–1962 | F. Kaiser | |
| Dušan Kalmančok | 7 | 1945–pres. | D. Kalmancok | |
| 3 | 1941–1998 | K. W. Kamper | — | |
| Kiyotaka Kanai | 1951–pres. | K. Kanai | ||
| 26 | 1973–pres. | J. Kandler | ||
| Hiroshi Kaneda | 705 | 1953–pres. | H. Kaneda | |
| Lyudmila Karachkina | 130 | 1948–pres. | L. G. Karachkina | |
| 9 | n.a. | G. R. Kastelʹ | ||
| John J. Kavelaars | 16 | 1966–pres. | J. J. Kavelaars J. Kavelaars | |
| Kōyō Kawanishi | 13 | 1959–pres. | K. Kawanishi | |
| Nobuhiro Kawasato | 105 | n.a. | N. Kawasato | |
| James Edward Keeler | 2 | 1857–1900 | J. E. Keeler | |
| Pamela M. Kilmartin | 41 | n.a. | P. M. Kilmartin | |
| 89 | 1972–pres. | L. Kiss | ||
| Minoru Kizawa | 12 | 1947–pres. | M. Kizawa | — |
| 16 | 1931–2019 | A. R. Klemola | ||
| 104 | 1952–pres. | R. Kling | ||
| Zoran Knežević | 1949–pres. | Z. Knezevic | ||
| 32 | 1963–pres. | A. Knofel A. Knöfel A. Kn\"ofel | ||
| Viktor Knorre | 4 | 1840–1919 | V. Knorre | |
| Takao Kobayashi | 2479 | 1961–pres. | T. Kobayashi | |
| 138 | 1939–2025 | P. Kocher P. Kocher | ||
| Luboš Kohoutek | 76 | 1935–2023 | L. Kohoutek | |
| Masahiro Koishikawa | 19 | 1952–pres. | M. Koishikawa | |
| Takuo Kojima | 45 | 1955–pres. | T. Kojima | |
| Peter Kolény | 35 | n.a. | P. Koleny | — |
| August Kopff | 68 | 1882–1960 | A. Kopff | |
| Korado Korlević | 1295 | 1958–pres. | K. Korlevic | |
| Leonard Kornoš | 37 | 1956–pres. | L. Kornos | |
| Hiroki Kosai | 93 | 1933–pres. | H. Kosai | |
| Lenka Kotková | 262 | 1973–pres. | L. Sarounova L. Šarounová | |
| Charles T. Kowal | 24 | 1940–2011 | C. T. Kowal | — |
| Richard Kowalski | 1 | 1963–pres. | R. A. Kowalski | |
| 5 | 1948–pres. | R. Kracht | ||
| 219 | 1970–pres. | T. V. Kryachko T. Kryachko c. Kryachko | ||
| Marcin Kubiak | n.a. | Kubiak | — | |
| Kazuo Kubokawa | 1903–1943 | K. Kubokawa | ||
| György Kulin | 21 | 1905–1989 | G. Kulin | |
| 2 | 1923–2003 | N. E. Kurochkin | — | |
| Reiki Kushida | 1 | n.a. | R. Kushida | |
| Yoshio Kushida | 56 | 1957–pres. | Y. Kushida | |
| Peter Kušnirák | 310 | 1974–pres. | P. Kusnirak P. Kušnirák | |
| Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist | 168 | 1944–pres. | C.-I. Lagerkvist | |
| Joanny-Philippe Lagrula | 1 | 1870–1941 | J. Lagrula | |
| Carl Otto Lampland | 1 | 1873–1951 | C. O. Lampland | |
| Werner Landgraf | 7 | 1959–pres. | W. Landgraf | |
| 2 | 1967–pres. | J. A. Larsen | ||
| 2 | n.a. | S. M. Larson | ||
| Tod R. Lauer | 3 | 1957–pres. | T. Lauer | |
| 15 | 1972–pres. | V. Laugalys | ||
| Marguerite Laugier | 21 | 1896–1976 | M. Laugier | |
| Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent | 1 | 1823–1900 | J. J. P. Laurent | |
| Stephen P. Laurie | 50 | n.a. | S. P. Laurie | — |
| Kenneth J. Lawrence | 34 | 1964–pres. | K. J. Lawrence | |
| Susannah Lazar | 1982–pres. | S. Lazar | — | |
| 1 | 1865–1933 | C. le Morvan | — | |
| 35 | 1960–pres. | G. Lehmann | ||
| 11 | 1963–pres. | G. J. Leonard | ||
| Otto Lesser | 1 | 1830–1887 | O. Lesser | — |
| David H. Levy | 65 | 1948–pres. | D. H. Levy D. Levy | |
| William Liller | 2 | 1927–2021 | W. Liller | |
| Robert Linderholm | 27 | 1933–2013 | R. Linderholm | — |
| Álvaro López-García | 12 | 1941–pres. | A. Lopez | |
| Ángel López Jiménez | 58 | 1955–pres. | A. Lopez | |
| 4 | 1886–1918 | W. Lorenz | — | |
| 2 | 1931–pres. | M. Lovas | ||
| Jessica Lovering | 1 | n.a. | J. R. Lovering | — |
| Percival Lowell | 1 | 1855–1916 | P. Lowell | |
| Robert Luther | 24 | 1822–1900 | R. Luther | |
| Jane Luu | 42 | 1963–pres. | J. X. Luu | |
| Renu Malhotra | 1961–pres. | R. Malhotra | ||
| 17 | 1961–pres. | F. Mallia | ||
| Francesco Manca | 26 | 1966–pres. | F. Manca | |
| Brian G. W. Manning | 19 | 1926–2011 | B. G. W. Manning | |
| Brian G. Marsden | 1937–2010 | B. G. Marsden | ||
| Albert Marth | 1 | 1828–1897 | A. Marth | — |
| Gianluca Masi | 31 | 1972–pres. | G. Masi | |
| 7 | 1888–1914 | A. Massinger | ||
| 208 | 1962–pres. | R. Matson | ||
| Alain Maury | 14 | 1958–pres. | A. Maury | |
| 13 | 1962–pres. | M. Mazzucato | ||
| John V. McClusky | 160 | n.a. | J. V. McClusky J. McClusky | — |
| Robert H. McNaught | 511 | 1956–pres. | R. H. McNaught | |
| Jeffrey S. Medkeff | 10 | 1968–2008 | J. Medkeff | |
| Karen Jean Meech | 6 | 1959–pres. | K. J. Meech K. Meech | |
| Philibert Jacques Melotte | 1 | 1880–1961 | P. Melotte | — |
| Jean-Claude Merlin | 93 | 1954–pres. | J.-C. Merlin | |
| Joel Hastings Metcalf | 41 | 1866–1925 | J. H. Metcalf | , |
| Erich Meyer | 23 | 1951–pres. | E. Meyer | |
| 16 | 1970–pres. | M. Meyer | ||
| Marco Micheli | 76 | 1983–pres. | M. Micheli | |
| Elia Millosevich | 2 | 1848–1919 | E. Millosevich | |
| Rudolph Minkowski | 1895–1976 | R. Minkowski | ||
| Seidai Miyasaka | 4 | 1955–pres. | S. Miyasaka | |
| Yoshikane Mizuno | 52 | 1954–pres. | Y. Mizuno | |
| 116 | 1959–pres. | L. A. Molnar L. Molnar | ||
| Zdeněk Moravec | 98 | 1968–pres. | Z. Moravec | — |
| Hiroshi Mori | 45 | 1958–pres. | H. Mori | |
| 9 | n.a. | P. M. Motl | — | |
| Antonín Mrkos | 273 | 1918–1996 | A. Mrkos | |
| Jean Mueller | 13 | 1950–pres. | J. E. Mueller | |
| Masaru Mukai | 13 | 1949–pres. | M. Mukai | — |
| 1934–2008 | J. D. Mulholland | — | ||
| Ulisse Munari | 49 | 1960–pres. | U. Munari | |
| Osamu Muramatsu | 73 | 1949–pres. | O. Muramatsu | |
| Akimasa Nakamura | 112 | 1961–pres. | A. Nakamura | |
| Grigory Neujmin | 74 | 1885–1946 | G. N. Neujmin | |
| Phil Nicholson | 1951–pres. | P. Nicholson | ||
| Seth Barnes Nicholson | 2 | 1891–1963 | S. B. Nicholson | |
| Tsuneo Niijima | 32 | 1955–pres. | T. Niijima | |
| Jaume Nomen | 55 | 1960–pres. | J. Nomen | |
| Toshiro Nomura | 13 | 1954–pres. | T. Nomura | |
| Artyom Novichonok | 40 | 1988–pres. | A. Novichonok A. O. Novichonok | — |
| Erwin Obermair | 7 | 1946–2017 | E. Obermair | |
| Warren B. Offutt | 18 | 1928–2017 | W. Offutt | |
| Okuro Oikawa | 8 | 1896–1980 | O. Oikawa | |
| 2 | n.a. | G. Ojakangas | — | |
| Arto Oksanen | n.a. | A. Oksanen | — | |
| Tomimaru Okuni | 130 | 1931–pres. | T. Okuni | |
| Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers | 2 | 1758–1840 | H. W. Olbers | |
| C. Michelle Olmstead | 46 | 1969–pres. | C. M. Olmstead | |
| José Luis Ortiz Moreno | 8 | 1967–pres. | J. L. Ortiz | |
| Michel Ory | 364 | 1966–pres. | M. Ory M. Ory | |
| Yoshiaki Oshima | 61 | 1952–pres. | Y. Oshima | |
| Liisi Oterma | 54 | 1915–2001 | L. Oterma | |
| Satoru Otomo | 148 | 1957–pres. | S. Otomo | |
| Rafael Pacheco | 57 | 1954–pres. | R. Pacheco | |
| Johann Palisa | 122 | 1848–1925 | J. Palisa | |
| André Patry | 9 | 1902–1967 | A. Patry | |
| Thierry Pauwels | 161 | 1957–pres. | T. Pauwels | |
| Fernando Pedichini | n.a. | F. Pedichini | — | |
| Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin | 6 | 1845–1904 | J. Perrotin | |
| Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters | 48 | 1813–1890 | C. H. F. Peters | |
| George Henry Peters | 3 | 1863–1947 | G. H. Peters | — |
| Giuseppe Piazzi | 1 | 1746–1826 | G. Piazzi | |
| 8 | n.a. | G. Pizarro | ||
| John Platt | 2 | 1963–pres. | J. Platt | — |
| N. R. Pogson | 8 | 1829–1891 | N. R. Pogson | |
| Christian Pollas | 26 | 1947–pres. | C. Pollas | |
| 1 | 1929–2007 | H. Potter | ||
| Petr Pravec | 372 | 1967–pres. | P. Pravec | |
| Milorad B. Protić | 7 | 1911–2001 | M. B. Protitch | |
| Herbert Raab | 1969–pres. | H. Raab | ||
| David L. Rabinowitz | 52 | 1960–pres. | D. L. Rabinowitz D. Rabinowitz | |
| Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth | 395 | 1892–1979 | K. Reinmuth | |
| Guy Reiss | 5 | 1904–1964 | G. Reiss | |
| Joseph Rheden | 3 | 1873–1946 | J. Rheden | — |
| Wolfgang Ries | 206 | 1968–pres. | W. Ries | |
| Fernand Rigaux | 8 | 1905–1962 | F. Rigaux | |
| Claudine Rinner | 393 | 1965–pres. | C. Rinner C. Rinner | |
| Elizabeth Roemer | 2 | 1929–2016 | E. Roemer | |
| Brian P. Roman | 11 | n.a. | B. Roman | |
| 9 | 1938–pres. | R. Roy | ||
| 6 | n.a. | K. S. Russell | ||
| Allan Sandage | 1926–2010 | A. R. Sandage | ||
| 1909–1979 | H.-U. Sandig | — | ||
| Luigi Sannino | 2 | 1981–pres. | L. Sannino | |
| Krisztián Sárneczky | 1371 | 1974–pres. | K. Sarneczky K. Sárneczky K. Sarneczky K. S\'arneczky | |
| Naoto Satō | 143 | 1953–pres. | N. Sato | |
| Ann Savage | 1946–2017 | A. Savage | — | |
| Alexandre Schaumasse | 2 | 1882–1958 | A. Schaumasse | |
| Giovanni Schiaparelli | 1 | 1835–1910 | G. Schiaparelli | |
| Lutz D. Schmadel | 244 | 1942–2016 | L. D. Schmadel L.D. Schmadel | |
| Brian Schmidt | 2 | 1967–pres. | B. Schmidt | |
| Alfred Schmitt | 4 | 1907–1973 | A. Schmitt | |
| Hans Scholl | 64 | 1942–pres. | H. Scholl | |
| Richard Schorr | 2 | 1867–1951 | R. Schorr | |
| 2 | 1928–pres. | J. Schubart | ||
| Lipót Schulhof | 1 | 1847–1921 | L. Schulhof | |
| Hans-Emil Schuster | 25 | 1934–pres. | H.-E. Schuster | |
| Erwin Schwab | 113 | 1964–pres. | E. Schwab | |
| Megan Schwamb | 32 | 1984–pres. | M. E. Schwamb M. Schwamb | |
| 653 | 1950–pres. | M. Schwartz | ||
| Friedrich Karl Arnold Schwassmann | 22 | 1870–1964 | A. Schwassmann | |
| George Mary Searle | 1 | 1839–1918 | G. Searle | — |
| 2 | n.a. | W. Sebok | — | |
| Sadao Sei | n.a. | S. Sei | — | |
| Nalin Samarasinha | 2 | 1958–pres. | N. Samarasinha | |
| Tsutomu Seki | 225 | 1930–pres. | T. Seki | |
| Grigory Shajn | 3 | 1892–1956 | G. Shajn | |
| Pelageya Shajn | 19 | 1894–1956 | P. F. Shajn | , |
| Scott S. Sheppard | 41 | 1977–pres. | S. S. Sheppard S. Sheppard | |
| Yoshisada Shimizu | 311 | 1943–pres. | Y. Shimizu | |
| Vladimir Shkodrov | 7 | 1930–2010 | V. G. Shkodrov V. Shkodrov | |
| Carolyn S. Shoemaker | 380 | 1929–2021 | C. S. Shoemaker | |
| Eugene M. Shoemaker | 188 | 1928–1997 | E. M. Shoemaker | |
| Piero Sicoli | 43 | 1954–pres. | P. Sicoli | |
| Stephen Singer-Brewster | 7 | 1945–pres. | S. Singer-Brewster S. C. Brewster | |
| Brigitta Sipőcz | 52 | 1984–pres. | B. Sipocz B. Sipőcz B. Sip\ Hocz | — |
| Brian A. Skiff | 67 | n.a. | B. A. Skiff | |
| Tamara Smirnova | 135 | 1935–2001 | T. M. Smirnova | |
| Giovanni Sostero | 3 | 1964–2012 | G. Sostero | |
| 2 | 1920–pres. | G. Soulie | ||
| Timothy B. Spahr | 63 | 1970–pres. | T. B. Spahr | |
| Stefano Sposetti | 172 | 1958–pres. | S. Sposetti | |
| Tom Stafford | 40 | n.a. | T. Stafford | — |
| Anton Staus | 1 | 1872–1955 | A. Staus | — |
| Duncan Steel | 12 | 1955–pres. | D. I. Steel | |
| Édouard Stephan | 2 | 1837–1923 | E. Stephan | — |
| DeLisle Stewart | 1 | 1870–1941 | D. Stewart | — |
| Jürgen Stock | 3 | 1923–2004 | J. Stock | |
| Gyula Strommer | 1920–1995 | G. Strommer | ||
| Otto Struve | 2 | 1897–1963 | O. Struve | |
| Matsuo Sugano | 4 | 1939–pres. | M. Sugano | |
| Atsushi Sugie | 122 | n.a. | A. Sugie | |
| Rafael Suvanto | 1909–1940 | R. Suvanto | ||
| Kenzo Suzuki | 42 | 1950–pres. | K. Suzuki | |
| Shōhei Suzuki | 52 | n.a. | S. Suzuki | — |
| Frédéric Sy | 2 | 1861–1917 | F. Sy | |
| Atsushi Takahashi | 22 | 1965–pres. | A. Takahashi | |
| Wilhelm Tempel | 5 | 1821–1889 | E. W. Tempel | |
| Luciano Tesi | 201 | 1931–pres. | L. Tesi | |
| Augusto Testa | 31 | 1950–pres. | A. Testa | |
| Holger Thiele | 4 | 1878–1946 | H. Thiele | |
| David J. Tholen | 105 | 1955–pres. | D. J. Tholen | |
| Norman G. Thomas | 55 | 1930–pres. | N. G. Thomas | |
| Jana Tichá | 123 | 1965–pres. | J. Ticha J. Tichá J. Tich\'a | |
| Miloš Tichý | 251 | 1966–pres. | M. Tichy M. Tichý M. Tich\'y | |
| Friedrich Tietjen | 1 | 1832–1895 | F. Tietjen | |
| Clyde Tombaugh | 15 | 1906–1997 | C. W. Tombaugh | |
| Maura Tombelli | 212 | 1952–pres. | M. Tombelli | |
| Kōichirō Tomita | 9 | 1925–2006 | K. Tomita | |
| 2 | 1953–pres. | J. L. Tonry | ||
| Carlos Torres | 38 | 1929–2011 | C. Torres | |
| Juraj Tóth | 16 | 1975–pres. | J. Toth | |
| Suzanne W. Tourtellotte | 15 | 1945–2013 | S. Tourtellotte | — |
| Chad Trujillo | 77 | 1973–pres. | C. A. Trujillo C. Trujillo C. W. Trujillo and Trujillo | |
| Roy A. Tucker | 805 | 1951–pres. | R. A. Tucker R. Tucker R.A. Tucker | |
| Horace Parnell Tuttle | 2 | 1837–1923 | H. P. Tuttle | |
| Andrzej Udalski | 2 | 1957–pres. | A. Udalski | — |
| Seiji Ueda | 705 | 1952–pres. | S. Ueda | |
| Takeshi Urata | 642 | 1947–2012 | T. Urata | |
| Fumiaki Uto | 21 | n.a. | F. Uto | — |
| Antonio Vagnozzi | 47 | 1950–pres. | A. Vagnozzi | |
| Marja Väisälä | 2 | 1916–2011 | M. Vaisala | — |
| Yrjö Väisälä | 128 | 1891–1971 | Y. Vaisala | , |
| George Van Biesbroeck | 16 | 1880–1974 | G. Van Biesbroeck | |
| Hendrik van Gent | 39 | 1899–1947 | H. van Gent | |
| Cornelis Johannes van Houten | 4718 | 1920–2002 | C. J. van Houten | |
| Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld | 4719 | 1921–2015 | I. van Houten-Groeneveld I. Groeneveld | |
| Andrew Vanden Heuvel | 6 | n.a. | A. Vanden Heuvel A. V. Heuvel | — |
| Zdeňka Vávrová | 116 | 1945–pres. | Z. Vavrova | |
| Walter Augustin Villiger | 1872–1938 | W. Villiger | ||
| George R. Viscome | 33 | 1956–pres. | G. R. Viscome | |
| Heinrich Vogt | 1 | 1890–1968 | H. Vogt | |
| 5 | 1876–1952 | L. Volta | ||
| Tomáš Vorobjov | 42 | 1984–pres. | T. Vorobjov | |
| Arno Arthur Wachmann | 3 | 1902–1990 | A. Wachmann | |
| Duncan Waldron | 2 | n.a. | J. D. Waldron | — |
| Åke Wallenquist | 1904–1994 | A. A. E. Wallenquist | ||
| Brian D. Warner | 3 | 1952–pres. | B. D. Warner | |
| Kazuro Watanabe | 671 | 1955–pres. | K. Watanabe | |
| James Craig Watson | 22 | 1838–1880 | J. C. Watson | |
| Robert Weber | 8 | 1926–2008 | R. Weber | |
| 1929–2021 | W. Wenzel | |||
| Richard Martin West | 40 | 1941–pres. | R. M. West | |
| Fred Lawrence Whipple | 1906–2004 | F. L. Whipple | ||
| Paul Wiegert | 683 | 1967–pres. | P. A. Wiegert | |
| Patrick Wiggins | 5 | 1949–pres. | P. Wiggins | |
| Paul Wild | 94 | 1925–2014 | P. Wild | |
| Albert George Wilson | 5 | 1918–2012 | A. G. Wilson | |
| Carl A. Wirtanen | 8 | 1910–1990 | C. A. Wirtanen | |
| Carl Gustav Witt | 2 | 1866–1946 | G. Witt | |
| Marek Wolf | 20 | 1957–pres. | M. Wolf | — |
| Max Wolf | 248 | 1863–1932 | M. F. Wolf | |
| Harry Edwin Wood | 12 | 1881–1946 | H. E. Wood | |
| Gao Xing | 26 | 1974–pres. | X. Gao | |
| Masayuki Yanai | 27 | 1959–pres. | M. Yanai | |
| 215 | 1988–pres | Q. Ye Q.-z. Ye Q.-Z. Ye | ||
| William Kwong Yu Yeung | 2094 | 1960–pres. | W. K. Y. Yeung W. K. Yeung | |
| James Whitney Young | 310 | 1941–pres. | J. W. Young J. Young | |
| Vincenzo Zappalà | 9 | 1945–pres. | V. Zappala | |
| Lyudmila Zhuravleva | 213 | 1946–pres. | L. V. Zhuravleva | |
| Frank B. Zoltowski | 230 | 1957–pres. | F. B. Zoltowski | |
| Anna N. Żytkow | 7 | 1947–pres. | A. Zytkow | — |
Discovering institutions
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. 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. 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 for the institution.
- Name at MPC: displays the name of the observatory as used by the MPC. Some institutions have multiple names due to inconsistencies and typos.