Mineralogical characterization of some basaltic asteroids in the neighborhood of (4) Vesta: first results

We present reflectance spectra of 19 V-type asteroids obtained at the 3.6 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo covering 0.8 to 2.5 mum. For 8 of these asteroids we obtained also visible spectra in the same observational run. The range from 0.8 to 2.5 mum, encompassing the 1 and 2 mum pyroxene features, allows a precise mineralogical characterization of these asteroids. The obtained data suggests the possible coexistence of distinct mineralogical groups among the V-type asteroids, either probing different layers of (4) Vesta or coming from different bodies. No clear correlation was found between mineralogies and the objects being, or not, member of the Vesta dynamical family. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.