SMASSII: Visible Spectra for 1,341 Small Main-Belt Asteroids

The Small Main-belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey, Phase II (SMASSII) provides visible-wavelength spectra for 1,341 main-belt asteroids observed between August 1993 and March 1999. NASA produced this dataset to study the compositional diversity and structure of the asteroid belt. The survey focused on small asteroids with diameters under 20 kilometers.

Use Cases

• Classifying asteroid taxonomic types based on visible-wavelength spectra.
• Analyzing compositional diversity across the main asteroid belt.
• Studying the correlation between asteroid size and spectral properties for objects under 20 km.
• Comparing spectral data with earlier surveys like SMASS to identify changes or consistencies.

Strengths

• Contains 1,341 asteroid spectra, providing a substantial sample size.
• Covers a specific wavelength range of 0.435 to 0.925 microns.
• Focuses on a defined population of small main-belt asteroids (D < 20 km).
• Data collection spanned nearly six years, from August 1993 to March 1999.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 15:29:18.138577; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observational survey using CCD spectroscopy.

Time Range

August 1993 to March 1999

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 15:29:18.138577