74 Galatea

74 Galatea (/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.

Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 2008 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave a light curve with a period of 17.270 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.01 in magnitude. The curve displays four minima and four maxima.

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