Download Space Weathering Agent: Solar Wind

Space Weathering Agent: Solar Wind
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Bombardment of helium ions
on olivine under vacuum
conditions in the lab
simulates space weathering
of asteroids and other airless
bodies.
The observed effects are:
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reddening of the spectral slope
slight darkening of the olivine
attenuation of the 1 μm
absorption band
formation of metallic iron in the
outer layer of the mineral
surface in powder and flat slab
PSRDpresents
http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Aug09/solarwind.helium.html
Space Weathering Agent: Solar Wind
The more we understand the processes and
timescales of space weathering, the better we can:
• Interpret reflectance spectra
of the surfaces of airless
planetary bodies
• Compare spectra of
meteorites to spectra of
asteroids, to determine
meteorite parent bodies
PSRDpresents
http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Aug09/solarwind.helium.html