Effects of viewing geometry, aggregation state, and particle size on reflectance spectra of the Murchison CM2 chondrite deconvolved to Dawn FC band passes

Several current and soon-to-launch missions will investigate ‘dark’ asteroids, whose spectra have few weak or no distinct spectral features. Some carbonaceous chondrites, particularly the CI and CM groups, are reasonable material analogues for many dark asteroid surfaces. In addition to compositional variations, many non-compositional effects, including viewing geometry, surface particle size and particle sorting, can influence reflectance spectra, potentially complicating mineralogical interpretation of such data from remote surfaces. We have carried out an investigation of the effects of phase angle, particle size, aggregation state, and intra-sample heterogeneity on the reflectance spectra (0.4–1.0 μm) of the Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, deconvolved to Dawn Framing Camera (FC) band passes. This study was motivated by the desire to derive information about the surface of Ceres from Dawn FC data. Key spectral parameters derived from the FC multispectral data include various two-band reflectance ratios as well as three-band ratios that have been derived for mineralogical analysis. Phase angle effects include increased visible slope with increasing phase angle, a trend that may reverse at very high phase angles. Fine-grained particles exert a strong influence on spectral properties relative to their volumetric proportion. Grain size variation effects include a decrease in spectral contrast and increased visible spectral slope with decreasing grain size. Intra-sample heterogeneity, while spectrally detectable, is of relatively limited magnitude