E-Type Asteroids: Spectroscopic Investigation on the 0.5μm Absorption Band

✍ Scribed by Sonia Fornasier; Monica Lazzarin

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 73 KB
• Volume: 152
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0019-1035
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.2001.6623

✦ Synopsis

Visible spectra of five E-type asteroids have been obtained at the European Southern Observatory with the 1.5-m telescope. Three of these objects reveal a peculiar absorption band centered around 0.5 µm whose origin is not easily attributable.

A possible source might be troilite, which is also a known constituent of aubrite meteorites, as it has a spectral behavior consistent with the visible and near infrared spectrum of these objects and may be responsible not only for the 0.5-µm band but probably also for the 3-µm band observed on the surface of these objects. We report in this paper the results of our investigation and a discussion regarding the possible composition of E-type asteroids.