Named in honor of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin {1900–1979}, Harvard astronomer since 1923, professor of astronomy since 1956, and a staff member of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory since 1962. One of the pioneers of modern astrophysics, she was engaged in research on the physical states and chemical composition of stars and nebulae in the 1920s. She is a leading authority on variable stars, supergiants, novae and supernovae, and the author of seven important and influential books whose topics include stars of high luminosity, stars in the making, novae, and variable stars. (M 4238) _ _.