(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	15 Jan 2026	12.7	2.778 AU	1.798 AU	07h45m	+14°53'	173.7°	2.2°
Today	11 Mar 2026	14.0	2.907 AU	2.299 AU	07h18m	+17°18'	118.5°	17.5°

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)                : 64.23603
            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
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   07 18 11.2   +17 18 43     2.299    2.907  118.5   17.5    95   14.0 
2026-03-11 08:33 UT   07 18 14.6   +17 19 18     2.304    2.908  118.2   17.5    95   14.0 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   07 18 21.1   +17 20 20     2.313    2.909  117.6   17.6    95   14.0 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   07 18 32.4   +17 21 54     2.327    2.912  116.6   17.8    95   14.0 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   07 18 45.2   +17 23 25     2.342    2.914  115.7   17.9    95   14.0 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   07 18 59.3   +17 24 53     2.357    2.916  114.7   18.0    96   14.0 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   07 19 14.9   +17 26 17     2.371    2.918  113.8   18.2    96   14.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   07 19 31.9   +17 27 38     2.386    2.921  112.9   18.3    96   14.1 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   07 19 50.3   +17 28 55     2.401    2.923  112.0   18.4    96   14.1 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   07 20 10.0   +17 30 09     2.416    2.925  111.0   18.5    96   14.1 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   07 20 31.1   +17 31 19     2.432    2.928  110.1   18.6    96   14.1 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   07 20 53.5   +17 32 26     2.447    2.930  109.2   18.7    96   14.1 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   07 21 17.2   +17 33 30     2.462    2.932  108.3   18.8    96   14.2 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   07 21 42.2   +17 34 30     2.477    2.934  107.4   18.9    97   14.2 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   07 22 08.5   +17 35 26     2.493    2.937  106.5   19.0    97   14.2 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   07 22 36.0   +17 36 19     2.508    2.939  105.7   19.1    97   14.2 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   07 23 04.8   +17 37 08     2.524    2.941  104.8   19.1    97   14.2 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   07 23 34.8   +17 37 53     2.539    2.943  103.9   19.2    97   14.3 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   07 24 06.0   +17 38 35     2.555    2.946  103.1   19.3    97   14.3 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   07 24 38.3   +17 39 13     2.571    2.948  102.2   19.3    97   14.3 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   07 25 11.8   +17 39 48     2.586    2.950  101.3   19.4    97   14.3 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   07 25 46.4   +17 40 19     2.602    2.952  100.5   19.4    98   14.3 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   07 26 22.2   +17 40 46     2.618    2.954   99.6   19.5    98   14.3 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   07 26 59.0   +17 41 10     2.634    2.957   98.8   19.5    98   14.4 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   07 27 36.9   +17 41 30     2.650    2.959   98.0   19.5    98   14.4 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   07 28 15.9   +17 41 46     2.666    2.961   97.1   19.6    98   14.4 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   07 28 55.8   +17 41 58     2.682    2.963   96.3   19.6    98   14.4 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   07 29 36.9   +17 42 07     2.697    2.965   95.5   19.6    98   14.4 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   07 30 18.9   +17 42 12     2.713    2.968   94.7   19.6    98   14.4 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   07 31 01.9   +17 42 13     2.729    2.970   93.9   19.7    99   14.4 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   07 31 45.8   +17 42 11     2.745    2.972   93.1   19.7    99   14.5 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   07 32 30.8   +17 42 04     2.761    2.974   92.3   19.7    99   14.5 

    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.