Galatea (moon)

Galatea (gal'-a-tee'-a, Greek Γαλατεία) is the fourth known moon of Neptune. It is named after Galatea, one of the Nereids of Greek legend.

Related Topics:
Moon - Neptune - Galatea - Nereids - Greek legend

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Galatea was discovered in late July, 1989 from the images taken by the Voyager 2 probe. It was given the temporary designation S/1989 N 4. It is also designated Neptune VI.

Related Topics:
July - 1989 - Voyager 2 - Probe

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The discovery was announced (IAUC 4824) on August 2, 1989, but the text only talks of « 10 frames taken over 5 days », giving a discovery date of sometime before July 28.

Related Topics:
August 2 - 1989 - July 28

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It is irregularly shaped and shows no sign of any geological modification. Since the Galatean orbit is below Neptune's synchronous orbit radius, it is slowly decaying due to tidal forces and will one day break up into a planetary ring or impact Neptune.

Related Topics:
Tidal force - Planetary ring

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• Orbital radius: 61,593 km
• Diameter: 204×184×144 km
• Mass: 3.7×10¹⁸ kg
• Estimated density: 1.3 g/cm³
• Orbital period: 0.429 d
• Orbital inclination: 0.065° (to Neptune's equator), 0.062° (to the local Laplace plane), 28.50° (to the ecliptic)

Not to be confused with the asteroid 74 Galatea.

Related Topics:
Asteroid - 74 Galatea

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