Spectral properties of eight near-Earth asteroids

Context. The Taurid Complex is a massive stream of material in the inner part of the Solar System. It contains objects spanning the range of 10 −6 -10 3 m, considered by some authors to have a common cometary origin. The asteroids belonging to Taurid Complex are on Apollo type orbit, with most of them being flagged as potentially hazardous asteroids. In this context, understanding the nature and the origin of this asteroidal population is not only of scientific interest but also of practical importance. Aims. We aim to investigate the surface mineralogy of the asteroids associated with Taurid Complex using visible and near-infrared spectral data. Compositional linking between these asteroids and meteorites can be derived based on the obtained spectra. Methods. We obtained spectra of six of the largest asteroids (2201, 4183, 4486, 5143, 6063, and 269690) associated with Taurid complex. The observations were made with the IRTF telescope equipped with the spectro-imager SpeX. Their taxonomic classification is made using Bus-DeMeo taxonomy. The asteroid spectra are compared with the meteorite spectra from the Relab database. Mineralogical models were applied to determine their surface composition. All the spectral analysis is made in the context of the already published physical data. Results. Five of the objects studied in this paper present spectral characteristics similar to the S taxonomic complex. The spectra of ordinary chondrites (spanning H, L, and LL subtypes) are the best matches for these asteroid spectra. The asteroid (269690) 1996 RG3 presents a flat featureless spectrum which could be associated to a primitive C-type object. The increased reflectance above 2.1 microns constrains its geometrical albedo to a value around 0.03. Conclusions. While there is an important dynamical grouping among the Taurid Complex asteroids, the spectral data of the largest objects do not support a common cometary origin. Furthermore, there are significant variations between the spectra acquired until now.

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“…Its spectrum was already published by Popescu et al (2011). Based on the VNIR it was classified as a Sr type asteroid.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral properties of the largest asteroids associated with Taurid Complex

Popescu

Birlan

Nedelcu

et al. 2014

A&A

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“…We gather here the results of Dandy et al (2003), Binzel et al (2004), Lazzarin et al (2005), de León et al (2006), de León et al (2010, Thomas and Binzel (2010), Popescu et al (2011), Ye (2011), Reddy et al (2011), Polishook et al (2012, Sanchez et al (2013), andDeMeo et al (2014b). These authors used different taxonomic schemes to classify their observations, using either broad-band filter photometry or spectroscopy, at visible wavelengths only or also in the near infrared.…”

Section: Gathering Classifications From Past Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral properties of near-Earth and Mars-crossing asteroids using Sloan photometry

Carry

Solano

Eggl

et al. 2016

Icarus

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International audienceThe nature and origin of the asteroids orbiting in near-Earth space, including those on a potentially hazardous trajectory, is of both scientific interest and practical importance. We aim here at determining the taxonomy of a large sample of near-Earth and Mars-crosser asteroids and analyze the distribution of these classes with orbit. We use this distribution to identify the source regions of near-Earth objects and to study the strength of planetary encounters to refresh asteroid surfaces. We measure the photometry of these asteroids over four filters at visible wavelengths on images taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These colors are used to classify the asteroids into a taxonomy consistent with the widely used Bus-DeMeo taxonomy (DeMeo et al. [2009]. Icarus 202, 160–180) based on visible and near-infrared spectroscopy. We report here on the taxonomic classification of 206 near-Earth and 776 Mars-crosser asteroids determined from SDSS photometry, representing an increase of 40% and 663% of known taxonomy classifications in these populations. Using the source region mapper by Greenstreet et al. (Greenstreet, S., Ngo, H., Gladman, B. [2012]. Icarus, 217, 355–366), we compare for the first time the taxonomic distribution among near-Earth and main-belt asteroids of similar diameters. Both distributions agree at the few percent level for the inner part of the main belt and we confirm this region as a main source of near-Earth objects. The effect of planetary encounters on asteroid surfaces are also studied by developing a simple model of forces acting on a surface grain during planetary encounter, which provides the minimum distance at which a close approach should occur to trigger resurfacing events. By integrating numerically the orbit of the 519 S-type and 46 Q-type asteroids in our sample back in time for 500,000 years and monitoring their encounter distance with Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, we seek to understand the conditions for resurfacing events. The population of Q-type is found to present statistically more encounters with Venus and the Earth than S-types, although both S- and Q-types present the same amount of encounters with Mars

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“…Thus, confronting the spectral data derived from telescopic observations with laboratory measurements is an important step in study of asteroid physical properties (Britt et al 1992;Vernazza et al 2007;Popescu et al 2011).…”

Section: Spectral Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of asteroid spectra – M4AST

Popescu

Birlan

Nedelcu

2012

A&A

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Context. The interpretation of asteroid spectra provides the basis for determining the chemical composition and physical process that modified the surface of the asteroids. The increasing number of asteroid spectral measurements has lead to well-developed methods for analyzing asteroid spectra. There is however no centralized database for all the published data and a set of standard routines is also required. Aims. We present a public software tool that combines both data archives and analyses of asteroid spectra. Methods. Our project M4AST (Modeling for asteroids) consists of an asteroid spectral database and a set of applications for analyzing asteroid spectra. These applications cover aspects related to taxonomy, curve matching with laboratory spectra, space weathering models, and mineralogical diagnosis. Results. M4AST project is fully available via a web interface. The database contains around 2700 spectra that can be either processed in M4AST and/or downloaded. The paper presents the algorithms we developed for spectral analyses based on existing methods. The robustness of routines is proven by the solutions found for spectra of three different asteroids: (9147) Kourakuen, (99 942) Apophis, and (175 706) 1996 FG3. The available results confirm those in the literature. M4AST applications can also be used to characterize any new asteroid spectra. Conclusions. M4AST is a robust and reliable tool dedicated to asteroid spectra.

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Spectral properties of eight near-Earth asteroids

Cited by 22 publications

References 42 publications

Spectral properties of the largest asteroids associated with Taurid Complex

Spectral properties of the largest asteroids associated with Taurid Complex

Spectral properties of near-Earth and Mars-crossing asteroids using Sloan photometry

Modeling of asteroid spectra – M4AST

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