Named in honor of Tomohiro Hirayama (1938– ), who joined the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory in 1960 as an observer with the Baker-Nunn Satellite-Tracking Camera. He later joined the observatory’s computer center and developed many programs for satellite laser ranging and other astronomical purposes. Between 1967 and 1987 all but one of the telex messages from the observatory to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams were typed by his hands. (M 30100) _ _.