Named in honor of Howard B. Keck, chairman and president emeritus of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The foundation was established in 1954 by his father, William M. Keck, Sr., to support higher education, medical research and science. Under Howard Keck’s leadership, the Foundation provided the grants to build the giant twin telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea. (M 27128) _ _.