2578 Saint-Exupéry

2578 Saint-Exupéry
Discovery and designation
Discovered by Tamara Smirnova
Discovery site Nauchnyj
Discovery date 2 November 1975
Designations
MPC designation 2578
1975 VW3, 1952 HG2, 1980 TA1
Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 23 July 2010
Aphelion 3.2885775 AU
Perihelion 2.7117843 AU
3.0001809 AU
Eccentricity 0.0961264
1898.102 days
242.24793°
Inclination 10.57784°
55.75819°
338.44636°
Physical characteristics
11.4

    2578 Saint-Exupéry is a small main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Tamara M. Smirnova on 2 November 1975. It is named after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French aviator and writer. The name is appropriate, as Saint-Exupéry's best-known character, The Little Prince, lives on an asteroid.

    In the book, the little prince's asteroid also has a unique code: B612. According to present conventions 2578 Saint-Exupéry's provisional designation was 1975 VW3, which is not a match. However, there is another asteroid called 46610 Bésixdouze, which is French for "B-six-twelve" (B612 in hexadecimal notation equals 46610).

    See also

    References