(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	30 Jan 2026	13.0	2.813 AU	1.861 AU	07h32m	+15°37'	161.6°	6.3°

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)                : 64.23604
            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
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   07 32 25.0   +15 37 34     1.861    2.813  161.6    6.3    80   13.0 
2026-01-30 09:25 UT   07 32 05.8   +15 38 47     1.863    2.814  161.2    6.5    81   13.0 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   07 31 36.4   +15 40 39     1.867    2.815  160.5    6.7    82   13.0 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   07 30 48.9   +15 43 44     1.874    2.818  159.3    7.1    83   13.1 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   07 30 02.4   +15 46 49     1.881    2.820  158.2    7.5    84   13.1 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   07 29 17.1   +15 49 52     1.889    2.822  157.0    7.8    85   13.1 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   07 28 33.0   +15 52 55     1.896    2.825  155.9    8.2    85   13.1 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   07 27 50.1   +15 55 57     1.904    2.827  154.7    8.6    86   13.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   07 27 08.5   +15 58 58     1.912    2.830  153.6    8.9    87   13.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   07 26 28.1   +16 01 57     1.921    2.832  152.4    9.3    87   13.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   07 25 49.1   +16 04 56     1.929    2.834  151.3    9.6    88   13.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   07 25 11.4   +16 07 52     1.938    2.837  150.1   10.0    88   13.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   07 24 35.2   +16 10 48     1.947    2.839  149.0   10.3    89   13.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   07 24 00.3   +16 13 42     1.957    2.842  147.9   10.6    89   13.3 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   07 23 26.9   +16 16 34     1.966    2.844  146.7   11.0    89   13.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   07 22 54.9   +16 19 24     1.976    2.846  145.6   11.3    90   13.4 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   07 22 24.4   +16 22 12     1.986    2.849  144.5   11.6    90   13.4 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   07 21 55.5   +16 24 59     1.997    2.851  143.4   11.9    90   13.4 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   07 21 28.0   +16 27 43     2.007    2.853  142.3   12.2    91   13.4 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   07 21 02.1   +16 30 25     2.018    2.856  141.2   12.5    91   13.5 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   07 20 37.8   +16 33 05     2.029    2.858  140.1   12.8    91   13.5 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   07 20 15.0   +16 35 43     2.040    2.860  139.0   13.1    92   13.5 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   07 19 53.8   +16 38 18     2.051    2.863  137.9   13.4    92   13.5 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   07 19 34.2   +16 40 51     2.063    2.865  136.8   13.7    92   13.6 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   07 19 16.2   +16 43 21     2.075    2.868  135.8   13.9    92   13.6 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   07 18 59.8   +16 45 49     2.086    2.870  134.7   14.2    92   13.6 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   07 18 45.0   +16 48 14     2.099    2.872  133.6   14.4    93   13.6 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   07 18 31.8   +16 50 36     2.111    2.875  132.6   14.7    93   13.7 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   07 18 20.2   +16 52 56     2.123    2.877  131.5   14.9    93   13.7 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   07 18 10.2   +16 55 13     2.136    2.879  130.5   15.2    93   13.7 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   07 18 01.8   +16 57 27     2.149    2.882  129.5   15.4    93   13.7 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   07 17 54.9   +16 59 38     2.162    2.884  128.4   15.6    94   13.7 

    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.