Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.1014r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #10.14; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1098
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Water and the OH radical, both in free and bound forms, have strong absorption features near 3 mu m, observed on many asteroids since the late 1970's (Lebofsky 1978, Feierberg et al. 1985). A knowledge of which asteroids have hydration and where hydrated asteroids are located gives important insights into the conditions prevailing near the beginning of solar system history. We have performed spectrophotometry of the NEAR target asteroids 253 Mathilde and 433 Eros using 5 filters from 1.25--3.35 mu m. Our observations were made at the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii in December 1995 and May 1996. We find 253 Mathilde to have a spectrum consistent with C-class asteroids in the near-IR, although without the 3-mu m water-of-hydration feature commonly seen on asteroids of this class ( ~ 60% of Cs are hydrated). The upper limit on a feature for Mathilde is 10%. Our JHK colors of 433 Eros are consistent with previous observations (Chapman and Morrison 1976, Icarus 28), and our 3-mu m data indicate no water of hydration, as expected for an S-class asteroid. No variability in colors was seen on these bodies within our uncertainty, although it is worth noting that 433 Eros was close to pole-on when observed, and that our observing run was short compared to the long rotation period (17.4 days) of 253 Mathilde (Mottola et al. 1995, Planet. Space Sci. 43). Binzel et al. (1996) compared 253 Mathilde to plausible meteorite analogs and found the best spectral matches to be unusual thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites or the shocked ``black'' ordinary chondrites (Hiroi et al. 1993, Science 261, Britt and Pieters 1989, LPSC 20). We too find the black chondrites to be acceptable spectral analogs, as well as samples of Murchison heated by Hiroi et al. (1993). This suggests that the surface of 253 Mathilde may be composed of either thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrite or shock-darkened ordinary chondrite. Combining our data with the data of Binzel et al. (1996), the spectrum of 253 Mathilde is inconsistent with common carbonaceous chondrites, and demands a different interpretation.
Clark Beth Ellen
Lebofsky Larry A.
Rivkin Andrew S.
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