Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid

Details Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid

Oct 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.3309w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #33.09; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.477

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will fly by mainbelt asteroid 2867 Steins on September 5, 2008. We obtained new visible wavelength spectra of 2867 Steins on Dec. 19, 2006 (UT) using the Palomar 200" telescope and Double Spectrograph. Two sets of spectra, taken 3 hours apart, one half of the rotation period for 2867 Steins, show it to be a highly unusual E(II)-type asteroid. The asteroid displays a 0.50 μm feature that is considered diagnostic of E(II)-type asteroids, but deeper than any previously observed E-type. This feature is most likely due to the presence of oldhamite on the asteroid surface. Also, the observed spectra are far redder than other E-types. There is potential evidence for heterogeneity on hemispheric scales, one side of the asteroid appearing to be significantly redder than the other. No known recovered meteorite sample matches the unusual spectra of 2867 Steins, but the closest analog would be similar to an enstatite achondrite (aubrite). Rosetta will be encountering the most thermally processed asteroid yet to be visited by an interplanetary spacecraft. This work was funded by the NASA Rosetta and Planetary Astronomy Programs, and was performed in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under contract with NASA.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rosetta Flyby Target 2867 Steins: A Very Unusual E-type Asteroid will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1066250