74 Galatea
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| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by: | Ernst Wilhelm Tempel |
| Discovery date: | August 29, 1862 |
| Alternative names: | |
| Minor planet category: | Main belt |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion distance: | 515.376 Gm (3.445 AU) |
| Perihelion distance: | 315.937 Gm (2.112 AU) |
| Semi-major axis: | 415.657 Gm (2.778 AU) |
| Eccentricity: | 0.240 |
| Orbital period: | 1691.658 d (4.63 a) |
| Avg. orbital speed: | 17.61 km/s |
| Mean anomaly: | 36.838° |
| Inclination: | 4.075° |
| Longitude of ascending node: | 197.313° |
| Argument of perihelion: | 174.519° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions: | 118.7 km |
| Mass: | 1.8×1018 kg |
| Mean density: | ? g/cm³ |
| Equatorial surface gravity: | 0.0332 m/s² |
| Escape velocity: | 0.0628 km/s |
| Rotation period: | ? d |
| Albedo: | 0.043 [1] |
| Temperature: | ~167 K |
| Spectral type: | ? |
| Absolute magnitude: | 8.66 |
74 Galatea (gal'-a-tee'-a) is a large Main belt asteroid. Its surface is very dark in color. Galatea was found by the prolific comet discoverer Ernst Tempel on August 29, 1862 in Marseilles, France. It was his third asteroid discovery. It is named after one of the two Galateas in Greek mythology. A stellar occultation by Galatea was observed on September 8, 1987. The name Galatea has also been given to one of Neptune's satellites.
[edit] References
| Minor planets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous minor planet | 74 Galatea | Next minor planet |
| List of asteroids | ||
Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Main belt · Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Damocloids · Comets · Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt • Scattered disc • Oort cloud)
For other objects and regions, see Asteroid groups and families, Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons and the Solar System.
For a complete listing, see List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names.
