Ultraviolet and visible photometry of asteroid (21) Lutetia using the Hubble Space Telescope

TL;DR

This study used Hubble Space Telescope data to measure Lutetia's albedo across ultraviolet to visible wavelengths, revealing a higher-than-expected ultraviolet albedo and providing insights into its surface composition ahead of the Rosetta flyby.

Contribution

First detailed spectral energy distribution model of Lutetia from 120-800 nm, highlighting its high ultraviolet albedo and implications for surface composition.

Findings

Lutetia's far ultraviolet albedo is about 10%.

Albedo drops steeply below 300 nm.

Surface properties differ from typical primitive chondritic material.

Abstract

The asteroid (21) Lutetia is the target of a planned close encounter by the Rosetta spacecraft in July 2010. To prepare for that flyby, Lutetia has been extensively observed by a variety of astronomical facilities. We used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to determine the albedo of Lutetia over a wide wavelength range, extending from ~150 nm to ~700 nm. Using data from a variety of HST filters and a ground-based visible light spectrum, we employed synthetic photometry techniques to derive absolute fluxes for Lutetia. New results from ground-based measurements of Lutetia's size and shape were used to convert the absolute fluxes into albedos. We present our best model for the spectral energy distribution of Lutetia over the wavelength range 120-800 nm. There appears to be a steep drop in the albedo (by a factor of ~2) for wavelengths shorter than ~300 nm. Nevertheless, the far ultraviolet albedo of Lutetia (~10%) is considerably larger than that of typical C-chondrite material (~4%). The geometric albedo at 550 nm is 16.5 +/- 1%. Lutetia's reflectivity is not consistent with a metal-dominated surface at infrared or radar wavelengths, and its albedo at all wavelengths (UV-visibile-IR-radar) is larger than observed for typical primitive, chondritic material. We derive a relatively high FUV albedo of ~10%, a result that will be tested by observations with the Alice spectrograph during the Rosetta flyby of Lutetia in July 2010.