Named in honor of Joseph A. Pearce {1893–1988}, who joined the staff of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in 1924 and served as its director from 1940 to 1951. Together with J. S. Plaskett {see planet  (2905)}, he conducted studies of the motions of distant early-type stars that established the reality of galactic rotation. An active promoter of both science and culture, he served as president of the Royal Society of Canada in 1949–50. (M 13481) _ _.