Astronomers using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory have captured and analyzed visible and near-infrared reflectance spectra of large and dark asteroids located in the mid-outer main asteroid belt. They found that these objects have spectral characteristics very similar to those of the dwarf planet Ceres. Their findings suggest that these main-belt asteroids were implanted from more distant regions of the Solar System during the giant planets’ dynamical instability.
Dark asteroids, most of which are located in the mid-outer main belt, are thought to be leftovers from the formation of the planets and remnants of the primary accretion of the first solar system planetesimals.
These asteroids are genetically linked to carbonaceous chondrites and are collectively called primitive asteroids.
These asteroids have been studied using various observational techniques, including ground-based and space-based telescopes and spacecraft.
“These objects are the remains of the building materials from which the planets of our Solar System were created 4.5 billion years ago,” said Professor Mario Trieloff, a researcher in the Institute of Earth Sciences at Heidelberg University.
“In these small bodies and their fragments, the meteorites, we find numerous relics that point directly to the process of planet formation.”
Using the IRTF telescope, Professor Trieloff and colleagues measured visible and near-infrared reflectance spectra of 10 Ceres– and Europa-like asteroids located in the mid-outer main belt and identified four main spectral groups.
“The astronomical measurements permit the identification of Ceres-like asteroids with a diameter as small as 100 km, presently located in a confined region between Mars and Jupiter near Ceres’ orbit,” said Dr. Driss Takir, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
“At the same time, the infrared spectra support conclusions as to the bodies’ chemical and…
Read the full article here