Spectroscopy of X-type Asteroids

Visual Spectroscopy of Asteroids at San Pedro Martir

We present low resolution reflectance spectra over the wavelength range 5000– 10000Å for 4 asteroids (3 belonging to the Nysa family and one near–Earth asteroid) obtained at the San Pedro Martir Observatory (Mexico) using the 2.1m telescope. Though the limited wavelength range covered often makes a classification difficult, the analysis of the available data reveals that two asteroids of the Ny...

Miniature lightweight X-ray optics (MiXO) for surface elemental composition mapping of asteroids and comets

The compositions of diverse planetary bodies are of fundamental interest to planetary science, providing clues to the formation and evolutionary history of the target bodies and the solar system as a whole. Utilizing the X-ray fluorescence unique to each atomic element, X-ray imaging spectroscopy is a powerful diagnostic tool of the chemical and mineralogical compositions of diverse planetary b...

Planetary Laser Raman Spectroscopy for Surface Exploration on C/d-type Asteroids – a Case Study

Visible-Wavelength Spectroscopy of Asteroids

Since first becoming available for astronomical research in the early 1980s, charge-coupleddevice (CCD) spectrographs have had a profound impact on our ability to measure the spectralreflectance properties of asteroids. High signal-to-noise, low-resolution spectra, covering the visible-wavelength region from 0.4 to 1.0 μm, are now routinely obtained for asteroids much fainter than were measured...

Olivine-Pyroxene Distribution of S-type Asteroids Throughout the Main Belt

The mineralogical composition of asteroids can be constrained using visible and near-IR (VNIR) spectroscopy. The most prominent spectral features observed over this wavelength range are due to olivine and pyroxene, the two most abundant minerals in both chondritic and achondritic meteorites. The observed ratio of these two minerals is highly dependent on the amount of heating that an asteroid h...