Named in memory of Sof’ya Vasil’evna Romanskaya (1886–1969). The first Russian woman concerned with astronomical observations, she made over 20,000 highly precise latitude determinations with a ZTF-135 zenith-telescope. Her major scientific interests were in the fields of the variation of latitude and the earth’s polar motion. From 1908 to 1959 she worked at the Pulkovo Observatory. (M 24916) _ _.