Detection of Temperature-Dependent Spectral Variation on the Asteroid Eros and New Evidence for the Presence of an Olivine-Rich Silicate Assemblage

✍ Scribed by Paul G. Lucey; John Hinrichs; Mary Kelly; Dennis Wellnitz; Noam Izenberg; Scott Murchie; Mark Robinson; Beth E. Clark; James F. Bell III

• Book ID: 102571672
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 194 KB
• Volume: 155
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0019-1035
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.2001.6747

✦ Synopsis

Data obtained by the near-infrared spectrometer carried by the NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft show that the spectral properties of the asteroid Eros vary with temperature. The manner in which they vary demonstrates that the mineral olivine is a major constituent of the surface. The near-IR temperature-dependent spectral properties of Eros in the northern hemisphere, and for two individual regions on the surface, show clear evidence of the presence of the mineral olivine and are a close match to the temperature-spectral behavior of LL-type ordinary chondrite meteorites. While the presence of other olivine-rich meteorites cannot be excluded, H-type ordinary chondrites are clearly too pyroxene-rich to be permitted as a major surface component of Eros. The results of the thermal-spectral analysis are consistent with results from analysis of conventional reflectance spectra of the asteroid and contribute unambiguous detection of olivine to the understanding of the surface composition of Eros.