Planetary Spectroscopy at MIT

Close Encounter Flyby Movie
Asteroid 2012 KT₄₂

The Planetary Spectroscopy group at MIT primarily study asteroids, both in the asteroid belt and those that approach the Earth (as well as others, where available!). We use reflectance spectroscopy to classify objects based on their spectral properties as well as doing more detailed studies of their composition.

We use a number of telescopes for our studies, including the Infrared Telescope Facility and the Keck Telescopes on Mauna Kea, telescopes on Kitt Peak in Arizona, and the Magellan telescopes in Chile. We have even published results using data from the Wallace Observatory here in Massachusetts!

Principal Investigator

Dr. Richard P. Binzel (abstracts in ADS)

MIT Collaborators

Dr. Francesca DeMeo
Dr. Michael Marsset
Dr. Stephen Slivan

Local Collaborators

Dr. Thomas Burbine, U. Mass. Amherst

Other U.S. and International Collaborators

Dr. Mirel Birlan, Obs. Paris
Brian Burt, Lowell Observatory
Dr. Shelte J. (Bobby) Bus, Univ. of Hawaii
Dr. David Polishook, Weizmann Institute Israel
Dr. Andrew S. Rivkin, APL
Dr. Cristina Thomas, PSI
Dr. Alan Tokunaga, Univ. of Hawaii
Dr. Pierre Vernazza, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille