Galileo encounter with 951 Gaspra: First pictures of an asteroid
Science
By: M. J. S. Belton, J. Veverka, P. Thomas, P. Helfenstein, D. Simonelli, C. Chapman, M. E. Davies, R. Greeley, R. Greenberg, J. Head, S. Murchie, K. Klaasen, T. V. Johnson, A. McEwen, D. Morrison, G. Neukum, F. Fanale, C. Anger, M. Carr, and C. Pilcher
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Abstract
Galileo images of Gaspra reveal it to be an irregularly shaped object (19 by 12 by 11 kilometers) that appears to have been created by a catastrophic collisional disruption of a precursor parent body. The cratering age of the surface is about 200 million years. Subtle albedo and color variations appear to correlate with morphological features: Brighter materials are associated with craters especially along the crests of ridges, have a stronger 1-micrometer absorption, and may represent freshly excavated mafic materials; darker materials exhibiting a significantly weaker 1-micrometer absorption appear concentrated in interridge areas. One explanation of these patterns is that Gaspra is covered with a thin regolith and that some of this material has migrated downslope in some areas.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Galileo encounter with 951 Gaspra: First pictures of an asteroid |
| Series title | Science |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.257.5077.1647 |
| Volume | 257 |
| Issue | 5077 |
| Year Published | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Description | 6 p. |
| First page | 1647 |
| Last page | 1652 |