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David

Darling

Galatea

Galatea

Smeared image of Galatea acquired by Voyager 2.


Galatea is the fourth moon of Neptune in order from the planet. Galatea was discovered by the Voyager Imaging Team in July 1989. It is named after one of the Nereids of Greek legend and is also known as Neptune VI. Like the five other inner moons discovered during the 1989 flyby of Voyager 2, Galatea is among the darkest objects in the solar system.

 

discovery 1989, by Voyager 2
orbit semimajor axis 61,953 km (38,504 mi)
diameter 204×184×144 km (127×114×89 mi)
orbital period 0.429 days (10 h 18 min)
orbital eccentricity 0.0001
orbital inclination 0.05°
visual albedo 0.06