(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Nov 2025	13.6	2.629 AU	2.100 AU	08h15m	+14°34'	111.6°	20.5°
Opposition	15 Jan 2026	12.7	2.778 AU	1.798 AU	07h45m	+14°53'	173.7°	2.2°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Galatea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2367976
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7822171
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.07078
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 197.07419
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 174.99661
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 64.23604
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 192.08336
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.35474
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.64            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   08 15 46.0   +14 34 13     2.100    2.629  111.6   20.5   285   13.6 
2025-11-17 03:05 UT   08 15 47.8   +14 33 53     2.098    2.630  111.7   20.4   285   13.6 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   08 15 59.5   +14 31 35     2.090    2.632  112.5   20.3   285   13.6 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   08 16 11.4   +14 29 01     2.080    2.634  113.5   20.1   285   13.6 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   08 16 21.6   +14 26 33     2.070    2.637  114.4   20.0   285   13.6 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   08 16 30.2   +14 24 11     2.060    2.639  115.4   19.8   285   13.6 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   08 16 37.2   +14 21 54     2.051    2.642  116.4   19.6   286   13.6 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   08 16 42.4   +14 19 43     2.041    2.644  117.3   19.4   286   13.6 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   08 16 46.0   +14 17 38     2.032    2.647  118.3   19.2   286   13.5 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   08 16 47.9   +14 15 39     2.023    2.649  119.3   19.0   286   13.5 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   08 16 48.1   +14 13 46     2.013    2.652  120.3   18.7   286   13.5 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   08 16 46.7   +14 11 58     2.004    2.654  121.3   18.5   286   13.5 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   08 16 43.5   +14 10 17     1.995    2.657  122.3   18.3   286   13.5 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   08 16 38.7   +14 08 43     1.987    2.660  123.3   18.1   287   13.5 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   08 16 32.1   +14 07 14     1.978    2.662  124.4   17.8   287   13.5 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   08 16 23.9   +14 05 52     1.969    2.665  125.4   17.6   287   13.4 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   08 16 14.0   +14 04 37     1.961    2.667  126.4   17.3   287   13.4 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   08 16 02.4   +14 03 27     1.953    2.670  127.5   17.0   287   13.4 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   08 15 49.1   +14 02 25     1.944    2.672  128.5   16.8   287   13.4 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   08 15 34.2   +14 01 29     1.937    2.675  129.6   16.5   288   13.4 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   08 15 17.6   +14 00 39     1.929    2.677  130.6   16.2   288   13.4 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   08 14 59.3   +13 59 56     1.921    2.680  131.7   15.9   288   13.3 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   08 14 39.3   +13 59 20     1.914    2.682  132.8   15.6   288   13.3 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   08 14 17.7   +13 58 51     1.906    2.685  133.9   15.3   288   13.3 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   08 13 54.4   +13 58 28     1.899    2.687  135.0   15.0   289   13.3 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   08 13 29.5   +13 58 12     1.892    2.690  136.1   14.7   289   13.3 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   08 13 03.0   +13 58 03     1.885    2.692  137.2   14.4   289   13.3 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   08 12 34.9   +13 58 01     1.879    2.695  138.3   14.1   289   13.2 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   08 12 05.2   +13 58 05     1.872    2.697  139.4   13.7   289   13.2 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   08 11 33.9   +13 58 16     1.866    2.700  140.5   13.4   290   13.2 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   08 11 01.1   +13 58 34     1.860    2.702  141.7   13.1   290   13.2 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   08 10 26.7   +13 58 59     1.854    2.705  142.8   12.7   290   13.2 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.