Title: Prepare for the Psyche Mission: Constraining the Composition of Asteroid (16) Psyche

Speaker: Jinlin Yu (Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Time: 12:00, December 7, 2021

Location: 3-302, PMO Xianlin Campus

Abstract: (16) Psyche is the largest M-type asteroid in the main belt and the target of the NASA Discovery-class Psyche mission which will lunch in 2022. Despite gaining considerable interest in the scientific community, Psyche？s composition and formation remain unconstrained. Originally, Psyche was considered to be almost entirely composed of metal due to its high radar albedo and spectral similarities to iron meteorites. More recent telescopic observations suggest the additional presence of low-Fe pyroxene and exogenic carbonaceous chondrites on the asteroid？s surface. To better understand the abundances of these additional materials, this work investigated visible near-infrared (0.35–2.5 μm) spectral properties of three-component laboratory mixtures of metal, low-Fe pyroxene, and carbonaceous chondrite. In this journal club, I will introduce the basic knowledge about asteroids, meteorites and minerals. And discuss in detail the methods and results of the research, and discuss the characteristics of (16) Psyche and current Mystery about it.

link：https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/abf63b