Named in honor of Ulrich Bastian (1951– ), astronomer at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Heidelberg. Together with S. Röser {see planet  (2856)}, Bastian produced the PPM Star Catalogue, which is a valuable practical tool for minor planet and comet work and constitutes an important aid for the transition from the FK4/B1950 to the FK5/J2000 reference system. He has also worked on other astrometric topics, such as Giotto targeting and the voluminous Hipparcos data-reduction task. (M 20520) _ _.