Discovery of a basaltic asteroid in the outer main belt
Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic observations of the asteroid 1459 Magnya indicate that it has a basaltic surface. Magnya is at 3. 15 astronomical units (AU) from the sun and has no known dynamical link to any family, to any nearby large asteroid, or to asteroid 4 Vesta at 2.36 AU, which is the only other known large basaltic asteroid. We show that the region of the belt around Magnya is densely filled by mean-motion resonances, generating slow orbital diffusion processes and providing a potential mechanism for removing other basaltic fragments that may have been created on the same parent body as Magnya. Magnya may represent a rare surviving fragment from a larger, differentiated planetesimal that was disrupted long ago.
Lazzaro
D
Observatorio Nacional, Departamento de Astrofisica, Rua Gal. Jose Cristino 77, 20921-400 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Instituto Astronomico e Geofisico, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Miguel Stefano 4200, 04301-904 Sao Paulo, Brazil. De.
Michtchenko
T
Carvano
JM
Binzel
RP
Bus
SJ
Burbine
TH
Mothe-Diniz
T
Florczak
M
Angeli
CA
Harris
AW