(74) Galatea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Jul 2026	15.0	3.158 AU	3.998 AU	09h19m	+13°03'	29.9°	9.2°
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
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   09 19 14.5   +13 03 24     3.998    3.158   29.9    9.2   112   15.0 
2026-07-11 12:39 UT   09 19 56.9   +13 00 25     4.003    3.159   29.5    9.1   112   15.0 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   09 20 34.9   +12 57 44     4.007    3.159   29.3    9.0   112   15.0 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   09 21 55.4   +12 52 02     4.016    3.161   28.6    8.9   112   15.0 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   09 23 15.9   +12 46 17     4.024    3.163   28.0    8.7   113   15.0 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   09 24 36.5   +12 40 30     4.032    3.165   27.4    8.5   113   15.0 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   09 25 57.0   +12 34 39     4.040    3.166   26.8    8.3   113   15.0 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   09 27 17.6   +12 28 46     4.048    3.168   26.2    8.1   113   15.0 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   09 28 38.2   +12 22 51     4.056    3.170   25.6    8.0   113   15.0 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   09 29 58.8   +12 16 53     4.064    3.172   25.0    7.8   114   15.0 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   09 31 19.4   +12 10 53     4.071    3.173   24.4    7.6   114   15.0 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   09 32 40.0   +12 04 50     4.079    3.175   23.8    7.4   114   15.0 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   09 34 00.7   +11 58 45     4.086    3.177   23.2    7.2   114   15.0 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   09 35 21.3   +11 52 37     4.093    3.179   22.5    7.0   114   15.0 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   09 36 41.9   +11 46 27     4.100    3.180   21.9    6.9   115   15.0 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   09 38 02.5   +11 40 14     4.107    3.182   21.3    6.7   115   15.0 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   09 39 23.0   +11 33 60     4.113    3.184   20.7    6.5   115   15.0 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   09 40 43.6   +11 27 43     4.120    3.185   20.1    6.3   115   15.0 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   09 42 04.1   +11 21 24     4.126    3.187   19.5    6.1   116   15.0 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   09 43 24.6   +11 15 03     4.132    3.189   18.9    5.9   116   15.0 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   09 44 45.1   +11 08 39     4.138    3.190   18.3    5.7   116   15.0 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   09 46 05.6   +11 02 14     4.144    3.192   17.7    5.5   117   15.0 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   09 47 26.0   +10 55 46     4.150    3.194   17.1    5.4   117   15.0 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   09 48 46.4   +10 49 16     4.156    3.195   16.5    5.2   117   14.9 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   09 50 06.8   +10 42 44     4.161    3.197   15.9    5.0   118   14.9 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   09 51 27.1   +10 36 10     4.166    3.199   15.3    4.8   118   14.9 

    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.