The number of the asteroid where the little prince lives is B-612. In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella The Little Prince, the narrator identifies the prince’s home as a tiny asteroid discovered by a Turkish astronomer. The astronomer’s report is initially ignored because he is wearing traditional Turkish clothing; when he presents the same discovery in European dress, scientists accept it. The episode satirizes how easily adults judge appearances instead of evidence.
B-612 is small enough for the little prince to care for personally. It has three volcanoes—two active and one dormant or extinct—and a rose that becomes central to his story. He also spends time removing baobab seedlings before they can overwhelm the asteroid.
Readers sometimes confuse B-612 with a real astronomical designation. It is fictional, although the real main-belt asteroid 46610 Bésixdouze was named in tribute to it; its number corresponds to B612 in hexadecimal notation. The asteroid 2578 Saint-Exupéry was also named for the author, not for the prince’s home.