Named in honor of Berend Caspar Jan Apeldoorn (1944– ), Dutch amateur astronomer, on the occasion of his 50th birthday. Since 1961, Ben has specialized in meteors and meteorites, observing meteors both visually and photographically. He has written many articles on astronomy for astronomical periodicals and yearbooks, as well as for general magazines and newspapers. Apeldoorn still makes important contributions to the popularization of astronomy and is a member of the Meteor Section of the Dutch Society for Meteorology and Astronomy. (M 24765) _ _.