Asteroid Spectroscopy

Limitations of Reflectance Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is unable to detect minerals
which lack diagnostic VNIR features (e.g.
quartz).
Spectroscopy has limited capabilities for
weakly featured minerals or for minerals
whose features are obscured by interfering
species.
Spectroscopy only samples a thin surface
layer (optical surface).
– Surface alteration processes (space weathering –
lecture 13) can modify the spectrum, potentially
leading to inaccurate interpretations
– Is a thin (< few hundred microns) surface layer
representative of an asteroidal body