Planetary Spectroscopy at MIT

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 like objects together 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!

Who We Are:

• Dr. Richard P. Binzel (abstracts in ADS)
• Dr. Thomas Burbine
• Dr. Stephen Slivan
• Mark Avnet
• Francesca DeMeo
• Alessondra Springmann
• Cristina Thomas

Site Contents:

• SMASS Small Main-Belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey
  • Background on the SMASS Project
  • List of SMASS publications (1992-1998)
• The MIT-UH-IRTF Joint Campaign for NEO Spectral Reconnaissance
• Classify asteroid spectrum using Bus-DeMeo taxonomy
• Web resources