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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 21, 2123, doi:10.1029/2003GL018627, 2003

Evidence of hydrated and/or hydroxylated minerals on the surface of asteroid 4 Vesta

Sunao Hasegawa

Department of Planetary Science, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan


Koji Murakawa

Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Hilo, Hawaii, USA


Masateru Ishiguro

Department of Planetary Science, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan


Hidenori Nonaka

Department of Planetary Science, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan


Naruhisa Takato

Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Hilo, Hawaii, USA


Chris J. Davis

Joint Astronomy Centre, Hilo, Hawaii, USA


Munetaka Ueno

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan


Takahiro Hiroi

Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA


Abstract

Asteroid 4 Vesta is thought to be a differentiated object with intact internal structure due to its achondritic surface. In this paper, we report K-L band spectroscopic observations of Vesta. We have detected the presence of a 3-μm absorption feature at about the 1% level on the surface of Vesta at longitudes between 155° and 195°. This result indicates that OH and/or H2O-bearing minerals are present in this region of Vesta; the sources are plausibly fragments of carbonaceous chondrite impactors or solar wind implantation. The detection of 3-μm absorption features from Vesta, regarded as the smallest terrestrial planet, may provide clues to the origin of volatile materials on terrestrial planets.

Received 12 September 2003; accepted 2 October 2003; published 13 November 2003.

Index Terms: 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5455 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Origin and evolution; 6205 Planetology: Solar System Objects: Asteroids and meteoroids.

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Citation: Hasegawa, S., K. Murakawa, M. Ishiguro, H. Nonaka, N. Takato, C. J. Davis, M. Ueno, and T. Hiroi (2003), Evidence of hydrated and/or hydroxylated minerals on the surface of asteroid 4 Vesta, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(21), 2123, doi:10.1029/2003GL018627.