Named in honor of Eric W. Elst (1936– ), Belgian astronomer at the Observatory at Uccle. For many years he has been enthusiastically searching for minor planets, especially Trojans, and several of his discoveries have now been permanently numbered. (M 18138) _ _.
Discovered on 16-10-1977 in Palomar by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.