Named for the South American country. Dom Pedro II (1825–1891), former emperor of Brazil who had withdrawn to France after the revolution of 1889 may have occasioned the naming. He was known as an enthusiastic patron of astronomy. Dom Pedro was an admirer and friend of Camille Flammarion who invited him to Juvisy (see planets (1021), (605)). (H 34; M.-A. Combes) _ _.