RUI: Radar Studies of Carbonaceous Main-Belt Asteroids

AST 0205975 Magridr.缅因州大学的克里斯托弗·马格里将使用阿雷西博天文台升级的雷达系统来研究碳质主带小行星(MBA)。他将使用雷达对目标形状、地形、自转状态、成分和近地表粗糙度的约束，来定义包含暗物体的各种分类类别之间的异同，以及碳质MBAs和其他小行星之间的异同。这个项目是自1999年以来由NSF支持的研究的继续，是Magri博士最近对设施升级前检测到的MBA进行的统计分析的合乎逻辑的结果。碳质小行星被认为与凝结在太阳星云外部的原始固体相比相对没有改变；最外层的小行星表面可能有复杂的有机分子。这是雷达首次探测到大量此类物体。因此，马格里博士的工作代表着向理解我们太阳系的起源和演化迈出的一步。

AST 0205975MagriDr. Christopher Magri, at the University of Maine, will use the upgraded radar system at the Arecibo Observatory to study carbonaceous main-belt asteroids (MBAs). He will use radar-derived constraints on target shape, topography, rotation state, composition, and near-surface roughness to define similarities and differences between the various taxonomic classes containing dark objects and between carbonaceous MBAs and other asteroids. This project, a continuation of NSF-supported research carried out since 1999, is a logical outgrowth of Dr. Magri's recentstatistical analyses of MBAs detected prior to the facility upgrade. Carbonaceous asteroids are thought to be relatively unaltered from the primordial solids which condensed in the outer solar nebula; the outermost ones probably have complex organic molecules on their surfaces. This is the first time that large numbers of such objects have been detectable by radar. Hence, Dr. Magri's work represents a step toward understanding the origin and evolution of our solar system.***