New V-type asteroids in near-Earth space

We present new visible and near-infrared spectroscopic observations of 4 small, previously unclassified, near-Earth objects (NEOs). They appear to have basaltic surfaces, and hence they can be classified as V-types. Their visible spectra exhibit a closer spectral match with the Main-Belt (MB) Asteroid (4) Vesta than the other, presently known, V-type NEOs and MB asteroids. The near-infrared spectrum of Asteroid 2003 FT3 shows—for the first time among NEOs—a peculiar shape of the 1 μm band, maybe suggesting an overabundance of olivine compared to the other V-types and to (4) Vesta. The presence of V-type objects among NEOs may be a consequence of the delivery processes connecting the inner MB to the near-Earth region. On the basis of the orbital parameters of the NEOs presented here, both the resonances (3:1 and ν 6 ), usually considered as the most relevant gateways for the production of near-Earth asteroids, should have been active to transfer the bodies from the MB region.