(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Jun 2026	15.0	3.106 AU	3.704 AU	08h42m	+15°21'	47.3°	13.9°
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
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   08 42 15.5   +15 21 38     3.704    3.106   47.3   13.9   108   15.0 
2026-06-13 11:45 UT   08 42 53.4   +15 19 35     3.710    3.107   47.0   13.8   108   15.0 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   08 43 33.0   +15 17 25     3.716    3.108   46.7   13.7   108   15.0 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   08 44 50.7   +15 13 09     3.728    3.110   46.0   13.6   108   15.0 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   08 46 08.6   +15 08 49     3.740    3.112   45.4   13.4   108   15.0 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   08 47 26.7   +15 04 26     3.752    3.114   44.8   13.3   108   15.0 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   08 48 44.9   +14 59 60     3.763    3.116   44.1   13.1   108   15.0 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   08 50 03.2   +14 55 30     3.775    3.117   43.5   13.0   108   15.0 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   08 51 21.8   +14 50 57     3.786    3.119   42.9   12.8   109   15.0 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   08 52 40.4   +14 46 20     3.798    3.121   42.2   12.6   109   15.0 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   08 53 59.2   +14 41 41     3.809    3.123   41.6   12.5   109   15.0 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   08 55 18.1   +14 36 58     3.820    3.125   41.0   12.3   109   15.0 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   08 56 37.1   +14 32 12     3.831    3.127   40.4   12.2   109   15.0 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   08 57 56.3   +14 27 23     3.842    3.129   39.7   12.0   109   15.0 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   08 59 15.5   +14 22 30     3.853    3.130   39.1   11.8   110   15.0 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   09 00 34.9   +14 17 35     3.863    3.132   38.5   11.7   110   15.0 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   09 01 54.4   +14 12 36     3.874    3.134   37.9   11.5   110   15.0 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   09 03 13.9   +14 07 35     3.884    3.136   37.3   11.3   110   15.0 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   09 04 33.6   +14 02 30     3.894    3.138   36.6   11.1   110   15.0 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   09 05 53.3   +13 57 22     3.904    3.140   36.0   11.0   110   15.0 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   09 07 13.1   +13 52 11     3.914    3.141   35.4   10.8   110   15.0 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   09 08 33.0   +13 46 58     3.924    3.143   34.8   10.6   111   15.0 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   09 09 53.0   +13 41 41     3.934    3.145   34.2   10.5   111   15.0 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   09 11 13.0   +13 36 22     3.944    3.147   33.6   10.3   111   15.0 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   09 12 33.1   +13 30 59     3.953    3.149   32.9   10.1   111   15.0 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   09 13 53.3   +13 25 34     3.962    3.151   32.3    9.9   111   15.0 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   09 15 13.5   +13 20 06     3.972    3.152   31.7    9.8   111   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.