Using ATRAN Telluric Correction to Investigate the 3μm-Region

Small-bodies of the Solar System, such as asteroids, provide an abundant amount of information about planetary formation and evolution. In particular, the characterization of asteroids is vital to understanding the distribution and abundance of water throughout the Solar System. Recent findings in asteroid spectroscopy have provided evidence for the surface presence of water-ice and hydroxide, likely due to silicates on asteroid surfaces interacting with H⁺ ions from the solar wind. To investigate surface hydration, astronomers analyze the 3µm region, where an absorption feature is exhibited. Atmospheric water, however, affects the quality of the data around this particular region, but a significant portion of the feature can be recovered by telluric correction routines, such as ATRAN. Here, ATRAN telluric correction code is employed to finalize spectra of 11 asteroids and 1 Jovian moon, some of which have been previously evidenced to show signs of hydration, and the results are presented to highlight particular aspects of the routine.