Named in honor of Gianfranco Magni (1943– ), who joined the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale in Rome in 1975. He has worked on the physics of stellar interiors, in particular on the equation of state of gas at high pressure and temperature. Currently, his main field of interest is the origin of the solar system and of planetary systems in general, with special attention to the structure and evolution of circumstellar disks and the formation of giant planets. Involved also in the study of the origin and structure of comets, he is a team member of the cometary mission Rosetta. A lover of early music, he plays the recorder and belongs to two musical groups, ”L’Amoroso Cantar” (Medieval music) and “Il Martellato” (Renaissance music). (M 34355) _ _.