Named after Nicole-Reine Lepaute (1723–1788), extraordinarily talented French mathematician. The astronomers Lalande and Clairaut sought her help for the computations needed to predict the 1759 return of comet 1P/Halley. Lepaute’s computations for the annular eclipse of 1764 were used throughout Europe. Unfortunately, years of calculation left her nearly blind. (M 31298) _ _.