Radar Observations of Asteroids 1 Ceres, 2 Pallas, and 4 Vesta

Abstract

Asteroids 1 Ceres, 2 Pallas, and 4 Vesta were observed with the 13-cm Arecibo radar and the 3.5-cm Goldstone radar during several apparitions between 1981 and 1995. These observations help to characterize the objects' surface properties. Echoes from Ceres and Pallas are ∼95% polarized (μC= σSC/σOC≈ 0.05) in the sense expected for specular (mirror) reflection yet broadly distributed in Doppler frequency, thus revealing surfaces that are smoother than the Moon at decimeter scales but much rougher (rms slopes > 20°) on larger scales. Slopes on Ceres appear to be somewhat higher when viewed with the 3.5-cm wavelength, a trend that is observed for the terrestrial planets and the Moon. In contrast, echoes from Vesta are significantly depolarized, indicating substantial near-surface complexity at scales near 13 cm (μC= 0.24 ± 0.04) and 3.5 cm (μC= 0.32 ± 0.04), which is probably a consequence of Vesta's relatively strong basaltic surface material and may be a signature of large impact features inferred to be present on the surface.The low radar albedos of Ceres (σOC= 0.042 ± 0.006) and Pallas (σOC= 0.075 ± 0.011) are in the range expected for surfaces with a carbonaceous chondrite mineralogy. Pallas' distinctly higher albedo implies a ∼35% higher surface density, which could result from a lower regolith porosity and/or a higher specific gravity (zero-porosity density). Given a porosity of 45%, the specific gravities of the surface materials on Ceres and Pallas would be ∼2.3 and ∼3.0 g cm−3, respectively, which would be consistent with (1) the presence of an additional silicate component on Pallas' surface (as inferred from spectroscopic observations) and (2) recent mass estimates, which suggest a higher mean (volume-averaged) density for Pallas than for Ceres.