ExploreNEOs. V. Average albedo by taxonomic complex in the near-Earth asteroid population

Thomas, C. A. and Trilling, D. E. and Emery, J. P. and Mueller, M. and Hora, J. L. and Benner, L. a. M. and Bhattacharya, B. and Bottke, W. F. and Chesley, S. and Delbo, M. and Fazio, G. and Harris, A. W. and Mainzer, A. and Mommert, M. and Morbidelli, A. and Penprase, B. and Smith, H. A. and Spahr, T. B. and Stansberry, J. A. (2011) ExploreNEOs. V. Average albedo by taxonomic complex in the near-Earth asteroid population. Astronomical Journal, 142 (3). ISSN 1538-3881

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Abstract

Examining the albedo distribution of the near-Earth object (NEO) population allows for a better understanding of the relationship between absolute (H) magnitude and size, which impacts calculations of the size frequency distribution and impact hazards. Examining NEO albedos also sheds light on the differences between the NEO and Main Belt populations. We combine albedo results from the ExploreNEOs Warm Spitzer Exploration Science program with taxonomic classifications from the literature, publicly available data sets, and new observations from our concurrent spectral survey to derive the average albedos for C-, D-, Q-, S-, V-, and X-complex NEOs. Using a sample size of 118 NEOs, we calculate average albedos of 0.29 (super +0.05) (sub -0.04) , 0.26 (super +0.04) (sub -0.03) , and 0.42 (super +0.13) (sub -0.11) for the Q-, S-, and V-complexes, respectively. The averages for the C- and D-complexes are 0.13 (super +0.06) (sub -0.05) and 0.02 (super +0.02) (sub -0.01) , but these averages are based on a small number of objects (five and two, respectively) and will improve with additional observations. We use albedos to assign X-complex asteroids to one of the E-, M-, or P-types. Our results demonstrate that the average albedos for the C-, S-, V-, and X-complexes are higher for NEOs than the corresponding averages observed in the Main Belt. Copyright (Copyright) 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Article
Publisher’s Statement:	© 2012 The American Astronomical Society.
ID number or DOI:	10.1088/0004-6256/142/3/85
Keywords:	04; 10302 1989 ml; Albedo; Asteroids; classification; ExploreNEOs Warm Spitzer Exploration Science project; Extraterrestrial geology; main-belt; main-belt asteroids; minor planets, asteroids: general; near-Earth asteroids; NEAR-Earth objects; object survey; optical-properties; phase-ii; physical-characterization; space weathering; spectral properties; spectroscopic survey; spitzer-space-telescope; Surveys; taxonomy; thermal infrared spectrophotometry; weathering
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit:	College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > Physics and Astronomy
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2015 17:03
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/388

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