This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The properties of the main belt asteroids provide critical tests for models of the formation and dynamical evolution of our solar system. Of special interest are the X/M/E class asteroids, which represent about 20% of the inner main belt asteroids, in part because they potentially include asteroids with metallic cores, which are the remnant metallic cores of catastrophically disrupted parent bodies. Unfortunately, the nature of these asteroids is one of the leading unsolved problems in asteroid composition studies.
Dr. Shepard and Dr. Clark's current asteroid program will be continued with the goal of doubling the number of X/M/E class asteroids (to around thirty) with multiwavelength (radar and infrared) observations. The primary objectives are to characterize the physical properties of M and E class asteroids, to search for the metallic cores of disrupted parent bodies, and to examine possible relationships between radar and spectral properties and size. Specific tasks include determining whether or not a size difference exists between the metal-rich and the metal-poor M class population, settling whether or not correlations exist between the spectral and radar properties of M class asteroids, finding the fraction of M class asteroids which are metal-rich, and better understanding the physical properties of E class asteroids.
Through this project, students at both institutions (one at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania at two at Ithaca College) will participate and be trained in the scientific process directly by participating in observing runs, data reduction, and the presentation of results. Data obtained during this project will also be directly incorporated into the laboratory component of a "senior level capstone course" at Bloomsburg University. Research by faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions provides important exposure to scientific methods to a broader range of students and is a valuable contribution to the educational infrastructure.
