(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	31 Aug 2026	14.7	3.241 AU	4.250 AU	10h27m	+07°28'	2.5°	0.8°
Opposition	25 Mar 2027	13.6	3.433 AU	2.436 AU	12h15m	-02°59'	178.7°	0.4°

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)                : 0.2375007
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7815637
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.07294
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 196.97572
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 175.02331
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 106.71624
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 192.01154
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.35303
            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
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   10 27 12.1   +07 28 16     4.250    3.241    2.5    0.8   237   14.7 
2026-08-31 05:12 UT   10 27 29.1   +07 26 42     4.250    3.242    2.6    0.8   240   14.7 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   10 28 30.3   +07 21 00     4.250    3.243    2.9    0.9   247   14.7 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   10 29 48.4   +07 13 43     4.251    3.244    3.4    1.1   255   14.8 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   10 31 06.3   +07 06 25     4.252    3.246    3.9    1.2   260   14.8 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   10 32 24.2   +06 59 07     4.252    3.247    4.5    1.4   265   14.8 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   10 33 41.9   +06 51 47     4.252    3.249    5.0    1.6   268   14.8 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   10 34 59.5   +06 44 26     4.252    3.250    5.6    1.7   271   14.8 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   10 36 17.0   +06 37 05     4.252    3.252    6.2    1.9   273   14.8 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   10 37 34.3   +06 29 43     4.252    3.253    6.8    2.1   275   14.8 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   10 38 51.6   +06 22 20     4.251    3.255    7.4    2.3   276   14.9 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   10 40 08.7   +06 14 56     4.251    3.256    8.0    2.5   277   14.9 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   10 41 25.6   +06 07 32     4.250    3.258    8.6    2.7   279   14.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   10 42 42.4   +06 00 07     4.249    3.259    9.2    2.8   280   14.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   10 43 59.1   +05 52 42     4.248    3.261    9.8    3.0   280   14.9 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   10 45 15.7   +05 45 16     4.246    3.262   10.5    3.2   281   14.9 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   10 46 32.0   +05 37 50     4.245    3.263   11.1    3.4   282   14.9 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   10 47 48.3   +05 30 24     4.243    3.265   11.7    3.6   283   14.9 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   10 49 04.3   +05 22 57     4.241    3.266   12.3    3.8   283   15.0 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   10 50 20.2   +05 15 30     4.239    3.268   13.0    4.0   284   15.0 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   10 51 36.0   +05 08 02     4.237    3.269   13.6    4.1   284   15.0 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   10 52 51.6   +05 00 35     4.235    3.271   14.2    4.3   285   15.0 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   10 54 07.0   +04 53 07     4.232    3.272   14.8    4.5   285   15.0 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   10 55 22.2   +04 45 39     4.230    3.273   15.5    4.7   285   15.0 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   10 56 37.3   +04 38 11     4.227    3.275   16.1    4.9   286   15.0 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   10 57 52.2   +04 30 43     4.224    3.276   16.8    5.1   286   15.0 

    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.