More chips off of Asteroid (4) Vesta: characterization of eight Vestoids and their HED meteorite analogs

TL;DR

This study analyzes eight Vp type asteroids using high-quality NIR spectra, revealing their surface mineralogy and linking them to Vesta and specific meteorite types, enhancing understanding of asteroid-meteorite connections.

Contribution

It provides detailed spectral analysis of eight Vp asteroids, establishing their mineral compositions and genetic links to Vesta and HED meteorites, which was previously less understood.

Findings

All eight asteroids show pyroxene absorption features.

One asteroid matches eucrite meteorites, others match howardite meteorites.

Evidence supports their origin from Vesta's surface.

Abstract

This work reports high quality NIR spectra, and their respective interpretations, for eight Vp type asteroids, as defined by Carvano et al. (2010), that were observed at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on January 14, 2013 UT. They include (3867) Shiretoko, (5235) Jean-Loup, (5560) Amytis, (6331) 1992 FZ1, (6976) Kanatsu, (17469) 1991 BT, (29796) 1999 CW77, and (30872) 1992 EM17. All eight asteroids exhibit the broad 0.9 and 1.9 micron mineral absorption features indicative of pyroxene on each asteroid's surface. Data reduction and analysis via multiple techniques produced consistent results for the derived spectral absorption band centers and average pyroxene surface chemistries for all eight asteroids (Reddy et al., 2012; Lindsay et al., 2013,2014; Gaffey et al., 2002; Burbine et al., 2009). (3867) Shiretoko is most consistent with the eucrite meteorites while the remaining seven asteroids are most consistent with the howardite meteorites. The existing evidence suggests that all eight of these Vp type asteroids are genetic Vestoids that probably originated from Vesta's surface.