Hubble Observations of the asteroid (16) Psyche in the UV
Abstract
The asteroid (16) Psyche is the target of the upcoming NASA Discovery Mission, Psyche. It is the largest asteroid designated as M-type in the Tholen taxonomic classification and is hypothesized to be the remnant metallic core of a differentiated body, stripped of its mantle through collisions. However, it has alternatively been suggested that Psyche accreted from highly-reduced, metal-rich material near the Sun early in the formation of the Solar System. Recent infrared and visible observations have also detected spectral features indicative of low-iron pyroxenes and hydroxyl or water on its surface. We seek to better constrain the asteroid's composition through a study of its surface in the ultraviolet (UV). In April of 2017 we acquired the first UV Hubble Space Telescope observations of (16) Psyche. Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer (STIS), we measured Psyche's reflectance spectrum at wavelengths between 160 nm - 310 nm and find that the spectrum is very red, with a reversal to a blue slope shortward of 200 nm. The spectrum is relatively featureless, with a few potentially weak absorption features in this bandpass. We will present the UV observational data, as well as our best-fit spectral models of the surface of (16) Psyche.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #50
- Pub Date:
- October 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018DPS....5040803B