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Space Weathering in Laboratory Samples Relevant to Carbonaceous Asteroids

Presentation #509.04 in the session “Asteroids: NEOs Physical Properties 3 - volatiles and composition”.

Published onOct 26, 2020
Space Weathering in Laboratory Samples Relevant to Carbonaceous Asteroids

Surfaces of asteroids are altered over time by energetic particles, such as solar wind ions, and micrometeorites. These alterations are manifested through physical and/or chemical changes of the outer surface layers of the regolith grains, which can significantly affect the optical reflectance of the asteroid regolith. While these changes have been relatively well-studied for lunar- and some asteroid-type analogs, they have only begun to be investigated for minerals relevant to carbonaceous asteroids. Thus, we have recently begun a concerted laboratory effort to better understand space weathering trends in minerals relevant to C-type asteroids. Here we present some of our more recent results that examine space weathering induced by micrometeorite impacts (simulated by pulsed laser irradiation).

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