Named in honor of James A. Westphal (1930– ), professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology and director of the Palomar Observatory. After leading a geological research group in the petroleum industry, Westphal went to Caltech in 1961, where he developed modern infrared detectors for use in astronomy, and (with Bruce Murray, see planet  (4957)) made important early observations of stars and planets. In later work (with Kristian and Sandage) he pioneered SIT spectroscopy and two-dimensional photometry of faint galaxy clusters. As principal investigator (from 1977) for the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC camera system, Westphal has played a key role in the development of CCD detctors suitable for astronomical and space research. (M 27462) _ _.