(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Apr 2026	14.7	3.017 AU	3.080 AU	07h50m	+17°26'	77.0°	19.0°
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
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   07 50 24.3   +17 26 24     3.080    3.017   77.0   19.0   101   14.7 
2026-04-30 09:37 UT   07 50 48.7   +17 25 50     3.086    3.018   76.7   19.0   102   14.7 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   07 51 25.5   +17 24 56     3.095    3.019   76.3   18.9   102   14.7 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   07 52 27.2   +17 23 25     3.111    3.021   75.6   18.8   102   14.7 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   07 53 29.6   +17 21 49     3.126    3.023   74.8   18.8   102   14.7 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   07 54 32.5   +17 20 09     3.142    3.026   74.1   18.7   102   14.8 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   07 55 36.0   +17 18 25     3.157    3.028   73.4   18.6   102   14.8 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   07 56 40.1   +17 16 38     3.173    3.030   72.7   18.5   102   14.8 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   07 57 44.7   +17 14 47     3.188    3.032   72.0   18.4   102   14.8 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   07 58 49.8   +17 12 51     3.203    3.034   71.3   18.4   103   14.8 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   07 59 55.4   +17 10 52     3.219    3.036   70.6   18.3   103   14.8 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   08 01 01.6   +17 08 49     3.234    3.038   69.9   18.2   103   14.8 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   08 02 08.2   +17 06 42     3.249    3.040   69.2   18.1   103   14.8 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   08 03 15.3   +17 04 31     3.264    3.042   68.5   18.0   103   14.8 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   08 04 22.9   +17 02 17     3.279    3.044   67.8   17.9   103   14.8 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   08 05 31.0   +16 59 58     3.294    3.046   67.1   17.8   103   14.8 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   08 06 39.5   +16 57 35     3.309    3.048   66.4   17.7   103   14.9 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   08 07 48.5   +16 55 09     3.323    3.050   65.7   17.6   104   14.9 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   08 08 57.9   +16 52 39     3.338    3.052   65.0   17.5   104   14.9 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   08 10 07.7   +16 50 05     3.353    3.054   64.4   17.4   104   14.9 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   08 11 17.9   +16 47 27     3.367    3.056   63.7   17.3   104   14.9 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   08 12 28.5   +16 44 45     3.382    3.058   63.0   17.1   104   14.9 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   08 13 39.5   +16 41 59     3.396    3.060   62.3   17.0   104   14.9 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   08 14 50.9   +16 39 09     3.411    3.062   61.6   16.9   104   14.9 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   08 16 02.6   +16 36 16     3.425    3.064   61.0   16.8   105   14.9 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   08 17 14.7   +16 33 19     3.439    3.066   60.3   16.7   105   14.9 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   08 18 27.1   +16 30 18     3.453    3.068   59.6   16.5   105   14.9 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   08 19 39.9   +16 27 13     3.467    3.070   59.0   16.4   105   14.9 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   08 20 53.0   +16 24 05     3.481    3.072   58.3   16.3   105   14.9 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   08 22 06.3   +16 20 53     3.495    3.074   57.7   16.2   105   14.9 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   08 23 20.0   +16 17 37     3.509    3.076   57.0   16.0   105   14.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   08 24 34.0   +16 14 18     3.522    3.078   56.3   15.9   106   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.