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Hamilton VE, Simon AA, Christensen PR, Reuter DC, Clark BE, Barucci MA, Bowles NE, Boynton WV, Brucato JR, Cloutis EA, Connolly HC, Hanna KLD, Emery JP, Enos HL, Fornasier S, Haberle CW, Hanna RD, Howell ES, Kaplan HH, Keller LP, Lantz C, Li JY, Lim LF, McCoy TJ, Merlin F, Nolan MC, Praet A, Rozitis B, Sandford SA, Schrader DL, Thomas CA, Zou XD, Lauretta DS. Evidence for widespread hydrated minerals on asteroid (101955) Bennu. Nat Astron 2019; 3:332-340. [PMID: 31360777 PMCID: PMC6662227 DOI: 10.1038/s41550-019-0722-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Early spectral data from the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission reveal evidence for abundant hydrated minerals on the surface of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu in the form of a near-infrared absorption near 2.7 μm and thermal infrared spectral features that are most similar to those of aqueously altered CM carbonaceous chondrites. We observe these spectral features across the surface of Bennu, and there is no evidence of substantial rotational variability at the spatial scales of tens to hundreds of meters observed to date. In the visible and near-infrared (0.4 to 2.4 μm) Bennu's spectrum appears featureless and with a blue (negative) slope, confirming previous ground-based observations. Bennu may represent a class of objects that could have brought volatiles and organic chemistry to Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- V. E. Hamilton
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - A. A. Simon
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - P. R. Christensen
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - D. C. Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - B. E. Clark
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | | | - N. E. Bowles
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - W. V. Boynton
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - J. R. Brucato
- INAF-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Firenze, Italy
| | - E. A. Cloutis
- Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - H. C. Connolly
- Department of Geology, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
| | - K. L. Donaldson Hanna
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - J. P. Emery
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - H. L. Enos
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - C. W. Haberle
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - R. D. Hanna
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - E. S. Howell
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - H. H. Kaplan
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - L. P. Keller
- ARES, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - C. Lantz
- Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
| | - J.-Y. Li
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - L. F. Lim
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - T. J. McCoy
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - F. Merlin
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, France
| | - M. C. Nolan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - A. Praet
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, France
| | - B. Rozitis
- Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | | | - D. L. Schrader
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - C. A. Thomas
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - X.-D. Zou
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - D. S. Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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