UV to far-IR reflectance spectra of carbonaceous chondrites – I. Implications for remote characterization of dark primitive asteroids targeted by sample-return missions

• Published in: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Main Authors: Trigo-Rodríguez, Josep, Moyano-Cambero, Carles, Llorca, Jordi, Fornasier, Sonia, Barucci, Maria, Belskaya, Irina, Martins, Zita, Rivkin, Andy, Dotto, Elisabetta, Madiedo, José, Jacinto, Alonso-Azcárate
• Other Authors: Institute of Space Sciences Barcelona (ICE-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya = Université polytechnique de Catalogne Barcelona (UPC), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Astronomy Kharkiv, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (KhNU), Department of Earth Science and Technology Imperial College London, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Universidad de Huelva, Universidad de Sevilla = University of Seville, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha = University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: instrumentation: spectrographs; techniques: imaging spectroscopy; meteorites; meteors; meteoroids; minor planets; asteroids: general; comets: general; [PHYS]Physics [physics]; [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Antarctic; Murchison; Tagish; Tagish Lake; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02550898; https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt1873

International audience We analyse here a wide sample of carbonaceous chondrites from historic falls (e.g. Allende, Cold Bokkeveld, Kainsaz, Leoville, Murchison, Murray, Orgueil and Tagish Lake) and from NASA Antarctic collection. With the analysis of these meteorites we want to get new clues on the role of aqueous alteration in promoting the reflectance spectra diversity evidenced in the most primitive chondrite groups. The selected meteorite specimens are a sample large enough to exemplify how laboratory reflectance spectra of rare groups of carbonaceous chondrites exhibit distinctive features that can be used to remotely characterize the spectra of primitive asteroids. Our spectra cover the full electromagnetic spectrum from 0.2 to 25 μm by using two spectrometers. First one is an ultraviolet (UV)–near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer that covers the 0.2–2 μm window, while the second one is an attenuated total reflectance infrared spectrometer covering the 2–25 μm window. In particular, laboratory analyses in the UV–NIR window allow obtaining absolute reflectance by using standardized measurement procedures. We obtained reflectance spectra of specimens belonging to the CI, CM, CV, CR, CO, CK, CH, R and CB groups of carbonaceous chondrites plus some ungrouped ones, and it allows identifying characteristic features and bands for each class, plus getting clues on the influenceof parent body aqueous alteration. These laboratory spectra can be compared with the remote spectra of asteroids, but the effects of terrestrial alteration forming (oxy)hydroxides need to be considered.