UV bluing after Space Weathering of silicates and meteorites

Asteroid surface space weathering has been investigated both observationally and experimentally, mostly focusing on the effects on the visible-near infrared (VNIR, 0.4-2.5 μm) spectral range. Here we present laboratory near-UV (NUV, 200-400 nm) reflectance spectra of ion irradiated (30-400 keV) silicates and meteorites as a simulation of solar wind ion irradiation. These results show that the induced alteration can reproduce the spread observed in the VNIR vs. NUV slope diagram for S-type asteroids. We expect the evidence of weathering processes in the NUV part of spectra before these effects becomes observable at the longer wavelengths [1].