NSF Award
1910229
The presence or absence of water on a small Solar System object tells us much about the object's history and helps us trace the evolution of the Solar System. Bodies closer to the Sun than the main asteroid belt are too warm to retain liquid water, while bodies further than, approximately, Jupiter's orbit are beyond the "snow line," where surface water is permanently frozen. Two groups of asteroids, just inside Jupiter's orbit (known as the Cybeles and Hildas after the largest member of each group) are proposed for study here. The PI will use telescopes to break down visible and infrared (IR) light into its constituent colors. From this, she will search for absorption features diagnostic of minerals that contain liquid water. The PI will involve undergraduate students from the College of Charleston in the research; part of the requested funding will be used to purchase a new small telescope for the undergraduate-only institution. This telescope will be used in the research. She will also visit astronomy and earth sciences classes at a local high school, where she has established a collaboration, in the Charleston area.<br/><br/>The team will obtain visible (0.4-0.8 micron) spectra and near/mid-infrared (0.7-4.2 micron) spectra for 23 Cybeles and 9 Hildas). This broad wavelength coverage will allow them to constrain the shallow 0.7-micron hydrated mineral band, the 0.9- and 1.1-micron bands due to water-rich clay minerals, the deep and sharp 3.0-micron hydrated mineral band, the rounded 3.0-micron water ice band. For the brightest 13 targets, they will obtain rotationally resolved 0.7-micron spectra. The observations will require ~25 nights spread over 7 observing semesters for both the sub-meter optical telescope on campus and NASA's InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF).<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
