Named in honor of Gernot Burkhardt (1951– ), astronomer at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Heidelberg. Burkhardt is an expert in computer hardware and a skilled programmer whose work is close to indispensable to almost all of his colleagues. He also serves as an editor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts and is responsible for the rather complex data handling procedures. (M 18143) _ _.