The surface of (4) Vesta in visible light as seen by Dawn/VIR
B. Rousseau, M. C. De Sanctis, A. Raponi, M. Ciarniello, E. Ammannito,, A. Frigeri, F. G. Carrozzo, F. Tosi, P. Scarica, S. Fonte, C. A. Raymond, C., T. Russel

TL;DR
This study used Dawn/VIR visible light data to map Vesta's surface spectral variations and lithology, revealing significant heterogeneity influenced by impact craters and exogenous material, and demonstrating mineralogical insights from visible wavelengths alone.
Contribution
The paper presents a novel approach to derive Vesta's lithology using only visible wavelength data, expanding mineralogical analysis capabilities.
Findings
Spectral diversity is mainly due to impact craters and exogenous material.
Visible wavelengths alone can provide crucial mineralogical information.
Identified a peculiar behavior of the olivine-rich spot in color composites.
Abstract
We analyzed the surface of Vesta at visible wavelengths, using the data of the Visible and InfraRed mapping spectrometer (VIR) on board the Dawn spacecraft. We mapped the variations of various spectral parameters on the entire surface of the asteroid, and also derived a map of the lithology. We took advantage of the recent corrected VIR visible data to map the radiance factor at 550 nm, three color composites, two spectral slopes, and a band area parameter relative to the 930 nm crystal field signature in pyroxene. Using the howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites data as a reference, we derived the lithology of Vesta using the variations of the 930 nm and 506 nm (spin-forbidden) band centers observed in the VIR dataset. Our spectral parameters highlight a significant spectral diversity at the surface of Vesta. This diversity is mainly evidenced by impact craters and illustrates…
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