Named in honor of Johan Degewij (1944– ), of Utrecht Polytechnic Institute, for his contributions to small-bodies research. Degewij was among the first to use spectroscopy to search for cometary activity on near-earth asteroids and to detect color and polarization variations with rotation. His discovery of rotational albedo variegation on Vesta {see planet  (4)} was the crucial observation that led to the recognition of its true rotation period as 5.34 hours, rather than 10.68 hours, the value accepted at the time. Degewij has also made significant contributions to the photometric study of comets, distant asteroids and the small satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. (M 24917) _ _.