Spectral characterization of V-type asteroids outside the Vesta family

Alessandra Migliorini, M.C. De Sanctis, D. Lazzaro, and E. Ammannito

MNRAS doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2441
first published online September 26, 2016

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“We present new NIR reflectance spectra of 10 V-type candidate asteroids obtained at the 3.6 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo covering the spectral range 0.7 to 2.5μm. The observed objects were selected from diverse datasets of putative V-type asteroids in order to characterize them, and hence better understand their relationship with (4) Vesta. We derive spectral parameters from NIR spectra to infer mineralogical information of the observed asteroids. All the spectra of the asteroids here reported show two prominent absorption features at 1 and 2μm that are typical of V-class objects. The comparison of spectral parameters, like band centers and band separation, among our observations, HED meteorites, and (4) Vesta from VIR/Dawn data reveals that there is a strong correlation between these objects. From our analysis, four objects are compatible with Howardites, three are more similar to an eucritic-like composition, and two are compatible with Diogenites. Asteroid 26145, which is the only member of the Vesta dynamical family observed in March 2012, is compatible with the Vesta’s surface, and shows a composition close to the Eucrites. “