A provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention of astronomical objects as soon as they are found. The provisional designation is usually replaced by a permanent name once a good orbit has been calculated. With asteroids, so many have been found that many will never be named by the people who found them.

• When did the asteroids become minor planets? Archived 2006-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
• New and old-style minor planet designations (Minor Planet Center)

This short article about science can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.