MARSSET , M.

The Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument has unveiled unprecedented details of the three-dimensional shape, surface topography and cratering record of four medium-sized ( 200 km) asteroids, opening the prospect of a new era of ground-based exploration of the asteroid belt. Although two of the targets, (130)...

Over the past 2.5 years, we have been carrying out disc-resolved observations of a substantial fraction of all large (D > 100 km) main-belt asteroids, monitoring them at high angular resolution throughout their rotation, and sampling the main compositional classes, using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE)...

International audience

Context. The high-angular-resolution capability of the new-generation ground-based adaptive-optics camera SPHERE at ESO VLT allows us to assess, for the very first time, the cratering record of medium-sized (D ∼ 100–200 km) asteroids from the ground, opening the prospect of a new era of investigation of the asteroid belt's collisional history....

Anhydrous pyroxene-rich interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) have been proposed as surface analogs for about two-thirds of all C-complex asteroids. However, this suggestion appears to beinconsistent with the presence of hydrated silicates on the surfaces of some of these asteroids, including Ceres. Here, we report the presence of enstatite...

The population of large 100+ km asteroids is thought to be primordial. As such, they are the most direct witnesses of the early history of our Solar System available. Those among them with satellites allow study of the mass, and hence density and internal structure. We study here the dynamical, physical, and spectral properties of the triple...

Context. Cybele asteroids constitute an appealing reservoir of primitive material genetically linked to the outer Solar System, and the physical properties (size and shape) of the largest members can be readily accessed by large (8m class) telescopes. Aims. We took advantage of the bright apparition of the most iconic member of the Cybele...