(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Apr 2024	14.1	2.565 AU	2.479 AU	20h47m	-13°30'	83.4°	22.9°
Opposition	8 Aug 2024	11.7	2.316 AU	1.305 AU	21h08m	-09°48'	173.7°	2.8°

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)                : 0.2362696
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7805739
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.07198
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 197.11740
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 174.81750
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 296.84767
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 191.94791
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.36751
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   20 47 38.7   -13 30 42     2.479    2.565   83.4   22.9   255   14.1 
2024-04-24 21:33 UT   20 48 42.5   -13 25 13     2.465    2.563   84.0   23.0   255   14.1 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   20 48 49.7   -13 24 36     2.464    2.562   84.0   23.0   255   14.1 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   20 49 60.0   -13 18 29     2.449    2.560   84.7   23.0   255   14.0 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   20 51 09.5   -13 12 23     2.434    2.557   85.4   23.1   255   14.0 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   20 52 18.4   -13 06 18     2.419    2.555   86.0   23.1   254   14.0 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   20 53 26.5   -13 00 12     2.404    2.552   86.7   23.2   254   14.0 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   20 54 33.8   -12 54 08     2.389    2.550   87.4   23.2   254   14.0 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   20 55 40.4   -12 48 04     2.374    2.547   88.1   23.3   254   14.0 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   20 56 46.2   -12 42 01     2.359    2.545   88.8   23.3   254   14.0 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   20 57 51.2   -12 35 60     2.344    2.543   89.4   23.4   254   13.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   20 58 55.4   -12 29 59     2.329    2.540   90.1   23.4   254   13.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   20 59 58.8   -12 23 59     2.314    2.538   90.8   23.4   254   13.9 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   21 01 01.4   -12 18 01     2.299    2.535   91.5   23.4   253   13.9 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   21 02 03.1   -12 12 05     2.284    2.533   92.2   23.5   253   13.9 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   21 03 03.9   -12 06 10     2.270    2.530   92.9   23.5   253   13.9 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   21 04 03.9   -12 00 16     2.255    2.528   93.6   23.5   253   13.8 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   21 05 02.9   -11 54 25     2.240    2.525   94.3   23.5   253   13.8 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   21 06 01.1   -11 48 35     2.225    2.523   95.0   23.5   253   13.8 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   21 06 58.4   -11 42 48     2.210    2.520   95.7   23.5   253   13.8 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   21 07 54.7   -11 37 03     2.195    2.518   96.4   23.5   253   13.8 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   21 08 50.1   -11 31 20     2.181    2.515   97.2   23.5   252   13.8 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   21 09 44.6   -11 25 40     2.166    2.513   97.9   23.5   252   13.7 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   21 10 38.1   -11 20 03     2.151    2.510   98.6   23.5   252   13.7 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   21 11 30.6   -11 14 28     2.137    2.508   99.3   23.4   252   13.7 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   21 12 22.2   -11 08 56     2.122    2.505  100.1   23.4   252   13.7 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   21 13 12.8   -11 03 27     2.108    2.503  100.8   23.4   252   13.7 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   21 14 02.3   -10 58 00     2.093    2.501  101.5   23.4   252   13.7 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   21 14 50.8   -10 52 38     2.079    2.498  102.3   23.3   251   13.6 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   21 15 38.3   -10 47 18     2.064    2.496  103.0   23.3   251   13.6 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   21 16 24.8   -10 42 02     2.050    2.493  103.8   23.2   251   13.6 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   21 17 10.1   -10 36 50     2.036    2.491  104.5   23.2   251   13.6 

    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.