Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8134407 Icarus 2018 12 Pages PDF
Abstract
For the first time, spectral signs of subtle coma activity were observed for four main-belt primitive asteroids (145) Adeona, (704) Interamnia, (779) Nina, and (1474) Beira around their perihelion distances in September 2012, which were interpreted as manifestations of the sublimation of H2O ice in/under the surface matter (Busarev et al., 2015a, 2015b). We confirm the phenomenon for Nina when it approached perihelion in September 2016. At the same time, based on results of spectral observations of near-Earth asteroid (162,173) Ryugu (Vilas, 2008) being a target of Japan's Hayabusa 2 space mission, we suspected a periodic similar transient activity on the Cg-type asteroid. However, unlike the main-belt primitive asteroids demonstrating sublimation of ices close to their perihelion distances, the effect on Ryugu was apparently registered near aphelion. To explain the difference, we calculated the subsolar temperature depending on heliocentric distance of the asteroids, considered qualitative models of internal structure of main-belt and near-Earth primitive asteroids including ice and performed some analytical estimations. Presumed temporal sublimation/degassing activity of Ryugu is a sign of a residual frozen core in its interior. This could be an indication of a relatively recent transition of the asteroid from the main asteroid belt to the near-Earth area.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Space and Planetary Science
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