Named for the monthly astronomical magazine edited in Paris by Alain Cirou and published by the Association Française d´Astronomie. Created in 1947 by a small group of amateurs under the name Le ciel normand, Ciel et Espace is one of the leading magazines of astronomy and space science in Europe. Scientists, journalists and amateurs all write for the magazine, and important celestial phenomena, such as eclipses and comets, provide an opportunity for the editorial staff to invite their readers to observe the sky. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by A. Fujii.