Bibcode
Licandro, J.; de Leon, J.; Campins, H.; Lorenzi, V.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 552, id.A79, 3 pp.
Advertised on:
4
2013
Journal
Citations
16
Refereed citations
16
Description
Context. Primitive asteroids contain complex organic material and ices
relevant to the origin of life on Earth. These types of asteroids are
the target of several sample-return missions to be launched in the next
years. 1999 JU3 is the target of the Japanese Aerospace
Exploration Agency's Hayabusa 2 mission. Aims: 1999
JU3 has been previously identified as a C-class asteroid.
Spectroscopic observations at longer wavelengths will help to constrain
its composition. Methods: We obtained spectroscopy of 1999
JU3 from 0.85 to 2.2 μm, with the 3.6 m Telescopio
Nazionale Galileo using the low-resolution mode of the Near Infrared
Camera Spectrograph. Results: We present a near-infrared spectrum
of 1999 JU3 from 0.85 to 2.2 μ that is consistent with
previously published spectra and with its C-type classification.
Conclusions: Our spectrum confirms the primitive nature of 1999
JU3 and its interest as target of the sample-return mission
Hayabusa 2.
Related projects
Minor Bodies of the Solar System
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid
Julia de
León Cruz