Named in memory of Yrjö Väisälä (1891–1971), originator and leader of the minor-planet program at Turku, and a teacher of the discoverer. He became the first professor of physics at the University of Turku in 1923 and soon afterward he inaugurated instruction in astronomy. He was also well known as a geodesist and an esperantist. An important contributor to astronomical fields as diverse as optics and orbit determination, he planned and constructed the observatory and the telescopes at Iso-Heikkilä {see planet  (1947)}. In 1951 he was appointed a member of the Academy of Finland. On his initiative the University of Turku then established the Astronomical-Optical Institute at Tuorla {see planet  (1425)}, and he served as its director until his death. (M 7949) _ _.