Bibcode
Dotto, E.; Fornasier, S.; Barucci, M. A.; Licandro, J.; Boehnhardt, H.; Hainaut, O.; Marzari, F.; De Bergh, C.; De Luise, F.
Bibliographical reference
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #37, #03.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p.623
Advertised on:
8
2005
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Since 2002, we started an observational program on Jupiter Trojans at
ESO-NTT, ESO-VLT and TNG.
We carried out visible and near-infrared spectroscopy and photometry of
members of dynamical families, as defined by Beauge and Roig (2001), and
of several background objects. The aim of these observations was to
improve our knowledge of the surface composition of Jupiter Trojans, to
check whether the spectral characteristics of small/faint bodies are
different from those of larger/brigther objects, and to look for
spectral features of ices and/or organics.
All the investigated bodies have featureless spectra and a spectral
behavior typical of the primitive P and D taxonomic classes. In
particular, no signatures of water ice have been found on the spectra of
these primordial bodies. From our investigation, the L4 and L5 clouds
appear to be compositionally indistinguishable. Tentative models of the
surface composition are presented and discussed.