International ratification - Names for celestial bodies are decided by the International Astronomical Union, IAU. At IAU the names are subject to a thorough quality check, and not until now are the Norwegian name suggestions offically ratified. The name consist of the number of the asteroid and the proper name. In the case of Abel the first name had to be included as well, in order to avoid confusion with a similiar name.
IAU has given the following explanations for the choice of the name:
(8525) Nielsabel 1992 RZ_5.
Discovered 1992 September 2 by E.W. Elst at La Silla. Named in memory of
the famous Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829). In 1824
he proved the impossibility of solving a general equation of the fifth
degree by radicals. Through his friendship with the editor Crelle, who
encouraged him in his work, he wrote his masterpiece "Recherches sur les fonctions elliptiques"
(1827), from which he could prove that Jacobi's
work on elliptic integrals were consequences of his own work. It is
interesting to note that neither Gauss {se planet (1001)} nor Cauchy
showed interest in Abel's work.