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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Ernst Wilhelm Tempel |
| Discovery date | August 29, 1862 |
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Designations
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| Alternate name | |
| Minor planet category |
Main belt |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 515.376 Gm (3.445 AU) |
| Perihelion | 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) |
| Average orbital speed | 17.61 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 36.838° |
| Inclination | 4.075° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 197.313° |
| Argument of perihelion | 174.519° |
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Physical characteristics
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| 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 | C[2] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 8.66 |
74 Galatea (pronounced /ˈɡæləˈtiːə/ GAL-ə-TEE-ə) 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.
References
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