(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 May 2026	14.9	3.078 AU	3.522 AU	08h24m	+16°14'	56.3°	15.9°
Opposition	25 Mar 2027	13.6	3.432 AU	2.435 AU	12h15m	-03°01'	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)                : 0.2367976
            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
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   08 24 34.0   +16 14 18     3.522    3.078   56.3   15.9   106   14.9 
2026-05-30 11:15 UT   08 25 08.8   +16 12 43     3.529    3.079   56.0   15.8   106   14.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   08 25 48.3   +16 10 55     3.536    3.080   55.7   15.8   106   14.9 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   08 27 02.8   +16 07 28     3.549    3.082   55.0   15.6   106   15.0 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   08 28 17.7   +16 03 58     3.563    3.084   54.4   15.5   106   15.0 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   08 29 32.7   +16 00 24     3.576    3.086   53.7   15.4   106   15.0 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   08 30 48.1   +15 56 46     3.589    3.088   53.1   15.2   106   15.0 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   08 32 03.7   +15 53 05     3.602    3.090   52.4   15.1   106   15.0 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   08 33 19.5   +15 49 20     3.615    3.092   51.8   14.9   107   15.0 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   08 34 35.5   +15 45 32     3.628    3.094   51.1   14.8   107   15.0 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   08 35 51.8   +15 41 40     3.641    3.096   50.5   14.7   107   15.0 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   08 37 08.4   +15 37 45     3.653    3.098   49.9   14.5   107   15.0 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   08 38 25.1   +15 33 46     3.666    3.100   49.2   14.4   107   15.0 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   08 39 42.0   +15 29 43     3.678    3.102   48.6   14.2   107   15.0 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   08 40 59.2   +15 25 37     3.691    3.104   47.9   14.1   107   15.0 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   08 42 16.6   +15 21 28     3.703    3.105   47.3   13.9   108   15.0 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   08 43 34.1   +15 17 15     3.715    3.107   46.7   13.8   108   15.0 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   08 44 51.8   +15 12 58     3.727    3.109   46.0   13.6   108   15.0 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   08 46 09.7   +15 08 39     3.739    3.111   45.4   13.4   108   15.0 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   08 47 27.8   +15 04 15     3.751    3.113   44.8   13.3   108   15.0 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   08 48 46.0   +14 59 49     3.763    3.115   44.1   13.1   108   15.0 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   08 50 04.4   +14 55 19     3.774    3.117   43.5   13.0   108   15.0 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   08 51 23.0   +14 50 46     3.786    3.119   42.9   12.8   109   15.0 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   08 52 41.6   +14 46 09     3.797    3.121   42.2   12.6   109   15.0 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   08 54 00.4   +14 41 29     3.808    3.122   41.6   12.5   109   15.0 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   08 55 19.4   +14 36 46     3.819    3.124   41.0   12.3   109   15.0 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   08 56 38.4   +14 31 60     3.830    3.126   40.4   12.2   109   15.0 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   08 57 57.6   +14 27 11     3.841    3.128   39.7   12.0   109   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.