Search Publications
Observations and Quantitative Compositional Analysis of Ceres, Pallas, and Hygiea Using JWST/NIRSpec
Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Rivkin, Andrew S.; Hammel, Heidi B. +6 more
We present JWST Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) measurements of the three largest low-albedo main-belt asteroids: (1) Ceres, (2) Pallas, and (10) Hygiea. Their reflectance spectra all have very similar absorptions centered near 2.72 µm attributed to Mg–OH in minerals. Within this band, Pallas also shows evidence of a sharper, deeper ban…
JWST Near-infrared Spectroscopy of the Lucy Jupiter Trojan Flyby Targets: Evidence for OH Absorption, Aliphatic Organics, and CO2
Noll, Keith S.; Grundy, William M.; Brown, Michael E. +6 more
We present observations obtained with the Near Infrared Spectrograph on JWST of the five Jupiter Trojans that will be visited by the Lucy spacecraft—the Patroclus–Menoetius binary, Eurybates, Orus, Leucus, and Polymele. The measured 1.7–5.3 µm reflectance spectra, which provide increased wavelength coverage, spatial resolution, and signal-to…
3 µm Phase Curves of Main-belt Asteroids from NEOWISE Photometry
Oszkiewicz, Dagmara; Masiero, Joseph; Chanover, Nancy +1 more
The shapes of asteroid phase curves are influenced by the physical properties of asteroid surfaces. The variation of an asteroid's brightness as a function of the solar phase angle can tell us about surface properties such as grain size distribution, roughness, porosity, and composition. Phase curves are traditionally derived from photometric obse…
First Detection of CO2 Emission in a Centaur: JWST NIRSpec Observations of 39P/Oterma
Villanueva, G. L.; Faggi, S.; DiSanti, M. A. +9 more
Centaurs are minor solar system bodies with orbits transitioning between those of trans-Neptunian scattered disk objects and Jupiter-family comets (JFCs). 39P/Oterma (39P) is a frequently active centaur that has recently held both centaur and JFC classifications and was observed with the JWST NIRSpec instrument on 2022 July 27 UTC while it was 5.8…
A Survey of CO, CO2, and H2O in Comets and Centaurs
Bauer, James; Harrington Pinto, Olga; Womack, Maria +1 more
CO and CO2 are the two dominant carbon-bearing molecules in comae and have major roles in driving activity. Their relative abundances also provide strong observational constraints to models of solar system formation and evolution but have never been studied together in a large sample of comets. We carefully compiled and analyzed publish…