Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are excellent laboratories for processes that affect airless body surfaces. S-complex (including V-type) NEAs were not expected to contain OH/H2O on their surfaces because they formed in the anhydrous regions of the solar system and their surface temperatures are high enough to remove these volatiles. However, a 3
Itokawa particles, which are samples recovered from the S-complex asteroid 25143 Itokawa by the Hayabusa spacecraft, demonstrate that S-complex asteroids are parent bodies of ordinary chondrite meteorites. Furthermore, they clarify that the space-weathering age of the Itokawa surface is of the order of several thousand years. Traditionally, Q-type asteroids have been considered fresh-surfaced. However, as the space-weathering timescale is approximately three orders of magnitude lesser than the conventionally considered age, the previously proposed formation mechanisms of Q-type asteroids cannot sufficiently explain the surface refreshening. In this study, we propose a new hypothesis on the surface state of Q-type asteroids: Q-type asteroids have a non-fresh weathered surface with a paucity of fine particles. For verifying this hypothesis, laboratory experiments on the space weathering of ordinary chondrites are performed. Based on the results of these experiments, we found that large (more than $100\, \mu \mathrm{m}$) ordinary chondritic particles with space weathering exhibit spectra consistent with Q-type asteroids.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10121439
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
- Volume:
- 71
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0004-6264
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract μ m feature typically indicative of OH/H2O was identified on other seemingly dry bodies in the inner solar system, raising the question of how widespread volatiles may be on NEAs. We observed 29 NEAs using both prism (0.7–2.52μ m) and LXD_short (1.67–4.2μ m) modes on SpeX on NASA’s IRTF in order to accurately characterize asteroid spectral type and the 3μ m region. Eight of the observed NEAs have a 3μ m absorption feature at >1σ (three of which are present to >2σ ), and they exhibit four identified band shape types. Possible sources for OH/H2O on these bodies include carbonaceous chondrite impacts and/or interactions with protons implanted by solar wind. Characteristics such as composition and aphelion appear to play an important role in the delivery and/or retention of OH/H2O, as all eight NEAs with an absorption feature are S-complex asteroids and six enter the main asteroid belt. Additionally, perihelion, size, albedo, and orbital period may play a minor role. Our observations determined that nominally anhydrous, inner solar system bodies, and therefore near-Earth space in general, contain more OH/H2O than previously expected. The identified trends should help predict which NEAs that have not yet been observed might contain OH/H2O on their surfaces. -
null (Ed.)Context. The vast majority of the geophysical and geological constraints (e.g., internal structure, cratering history) for main-belt asteroids have so far been obtained via dedicated interplanetary missions (e.g., ESA Rosetta, NASA Dawn). The high angular resolution of SPHERE/ZIMPOL, the new-generation visible adaptive-optics camera at ESO VLT, implies that these science objectives can now be investigated from the ground for a large fraction of D ≥ 100 km main-belt asteroids. The sharp images acquired by this instrument can be used to accurately constrain the shape and thus volume of these bodies (hence density when combined with mass estimates) and to characterize the distribution and topography of D ≥ 30 km craters across their surfaces. Aims. Here, via several complementary approaches, we evaluated the recently proposed hypothesis that the S-type asteroid (89) Julia is the parent body of a small compact asteroid family that formed via a cratering collisional event. Methods. We observed (89) Julia with VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL throughout its rotation, derived its 3D shape, and performed a reconnaissance and characterization of the largest craters. We also performed numerical simulations to first confirm the existence of the Julia family and to determine its age and the size of the impact crater at its origin. Finally, we utilized the images/3D shape in an attempt to identify the origin location of the small collisional family. Results. On the one hand, our VLT/SPHERE observations reveal the presence of a large crater ( D ~ 75 km) in Julia’s southern hemisphere. On the other hand, our numerical simulations suggest that (89) Julia was impacted 30–120 Myrs ago by a D ~ 8 km asteroid, thereby creating a D ≥ 60 km impact crater at the surface of Julia. Given the small size of the impactor, the obliquity of Julia and the particular orientation of the family in the (a,i) space, the imaged impact crater is likely to be the origin of the family. Conclusions. New doors into ground-based asteroid exploration, namely, geophysics and geology, are being opened thanks to the unique capabilities of VLT/SPHERE. Also, the present work may represent the beginning of a new era of asteroid-family studies. In the fields of geophysics, geology, and asteroid family studies, the future will only get brighter with the forthcoming arrival of 30–40 m class telescopes like ELT, TMT, and GMT.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Given spume's role in mediating air‐sea exchange at the base of tropical cyclones or other storm events, the focus of studies on spray dynamics has been within the marine environment. In contrast, spume production in nonseawater bodies has been underexplored and potential differences between sea and freshwater are neglected. The laboratory remains the primary means for directly observing spray processes near the surface because of the challenges to making robust field measurements. There is no standardization on the water type used for these experiments, and the effect this has on the generation process is unknown. This adds uncertainty in our ability to make physically realistic spume generation functions that are ultimately applied to the geophysical domain. We have conducted a laboratory experiment that aims to address this simple, yet overlooked, question of whether water type impacts the spume droplet concentration entrained in the air flow above actively breaking waves. We compared directly imaged concentrations for fresh and seawater droplets produced in 10‐m equivalent winds from 36–54 m/s. Substantially higher concentrations of seawater spume were observed, as compared to freshwater across all particle sizes and wind speeds. The seawater particles' vertical distribution was concentrated near the surface, whereas the freshwater droplets were more uniformly distributed. Our statistical analysis of these findings suggests significant differences in the size‐ and height‐dependent distributions response to increased wind forcing between fresh and seawater. These unexpected findings suggest an unanticipated role of the source water physiochemical properties on the spume generation mechanism.
-
more » « less
Abstract Continental flood basalts (CFBs) are dominated by two characteristic lava morphologies. The first type, referred to as ‘compound’ or ‘hummocky pāhoehoe,’ exhibits pillow-like lava flow lobes with cross-sections of ~ 0.5–2 m and thin chilled margins. The second type, referred to as ‘simple’ or ‘sheet lobes’ preserves more massive, inflated flow interiors that are laterally continuous on scales of 100s of meters to kilometers. Previous hypotheses suggest that two factors may contribute to stratigraphic changes in morphology from ‘compound’ to ‘simple’: 1) increased eruption duration or 2) increased extrusion rate. We test the hypothesis that a large increase in extrusion rate would result in flow morphology transitioning from multiple small lobes to inflated sheet lobes due to a shift in flow propagation from intraflow resurfacing-dominated to marginal breakout-dominated. Using polyethylene glycol (PEG) wax extruded into a circular water-filled tank 130 cm in diameter, we produced larger, more complex experiments than previous studies. Our efforts simulated more complex lava fields which change flow morphology with distance from the eruptive vent, characteristic of CFBs. Whereas previous PEG studies linked extrusion rate to near-source surface morphologies, our experiments evaluated how flow propagation mechanisms change with variable extrusion rate and distance from the source. Two flow propagation styles were identified: 1) resurfacing, in which molten material breaks through the surface of a flow and covers the older crust and 2) marginal breakouts, in which molten material extends beyond the crust at the active distal margin of the flow. Flows that propagated via marginal breakouts were found to have lower proportions of resurfaced area and vice versa. We show that significant resurfacing is needed to preserve internal chilled boundaries within a flow and a low-extrusion-rate surface morphology, whereas marginal breakout-dominated flows tend to inflate the pillow-like surface morphology preserving a massive interior at great distances from the vent. Higher and more steady extrusion rates tend to decrease the extent of resurfacing and increase the distance between the source and preserved low-extrusion-rate surface morphologies. We find that an extrusion rate increase equivalent to a jump in the extrusion rate scaling factor, Ψ value, from < 1 to > 5 would be necessary to ensure a switch from resurfacing-dominated lobate morphologies to marginal breakout-dominated propagation style. This amounts to a factor of 125 increase in effusion rate for fissure eruptions and a factor of 625 for point source eruptions, assuming no change in vent geometry. This would be equivalent to an effusion rate of 0.2 m3/s, as documented in 1987–1990 Kīlauea eruptions, increasing to 125 m3/s, which was commonly measured during the 2014 Holuhraun eruption in Iceland and the 2018 eruption at Leilani Estates in Hawai‘i. Thus, we propose that continental flood basalts do not require unusually large effusion rates, but instead were active for a longer and more consistent time period than smaller-volume eruptions.
-
Context. Until recently, the 3D shape, and therefore density (when combining the volume estimate with available mass estimates), and surface topography of the vast majority of the largest ( D ≥ 100 km) main-belt asteroids have remained poorly constrained. The improved capabilities of the SPHERE/ZIMPOL instrument have opened new doors into ground-based asteroid exploration. Aims. To constrain the formation and evolution of a representative sample of large asteroids, we conducted a high-angular-resolution imaging survey of 42 large main-belt asteroids with VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL. Our asteroid sample comprises 39 bodies with D ≥ 100 km and in particular most D ≥ 200 km main-belt asteroids (20/23). Furthermore, it nicely reflects the compositional diversity present in the main belt as the sampled bodies belong to the following taxonomic classes: A, B, C, Ch/Cgh, E/M/X, K, P/T, S, and V. Methods. The SPHERE/ZIMPOL images were first used to reconstruct the 3D shape of all targets with both the ADAM and MPCD reconstruction methods. We subsequently performed a detailed shape analysis and constrained the density of each target using available mass estimates including our own mass estimates in the case of multiple systems. Results. The analysis of the reconstructed shapes allowed us to identify two families of objects as a function of their diameters, namely “spherical” and “elongated” bodies. A difference in rotation period appears to be the main origin of this bimodality. In addition, all but one object (216 Kleopatra) are located along the Maclaurin sequence with large volatile-rich bodies being the closest to the latter. Our results further reveal that the primaries of most multiple systems possess a rotation period of shorter than 6 h and an elongated shape ( c ∕ a ≤ 0.65). Densities in our sample range from ~1.3 g cm −3 (87 Sylvia) to ~4.3 g cm −3 (22 Kalliope). Furthermore, the density distribution appears to be strongly bimodal with volatile-poor ( ρ ≥ 2.7 g cm −3 ) and volatile-rich ( ρ ≤ 2.2 g cm −3 ) bodies. Finally, our survey along with previous observations provides evidence in support of the possibility that some C-complex bodies could be intrinsically related to IDP-like P- and D-type asteroids, representing different layers of a same body (C: core; P/D: outer shell). We therefore propose that P/ D-types and some C-types may have the same origin in the primordial trans-Neptunian disk.more » « less
