Published recently in Nature, this study is part of a trio of published papers based on analysis of Bennu samples by worldwide experts, including Michelle Thompson. Together, the research shows that Bennu is a mixture of materials from across and even beyond our solar system, whose unique and varied contents have been transformed by interactions with water and space weathering.

Planetary scientist decodes clues in Bennu’s surface composition to make sense of far-flung asteroids   

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  1. It’s great research, but the post title exaggerates things. The asteroids don’t shine red or blue, it’s just a reference to their spectral slope- how much light of different wavelengths the body reflects. Most asteroids barely reflect any light to begin with- Bennu’s albedo is around [0.046](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Icar..35514133G/abstract), for example, similar to fresh asphalt- but they might reflect a tiny bit more at either longer or shorter wavelengths. So when an asteroid is described as “red” or “blue”, it might be better to imagine a color as black as tar with just the smallest hint of red, or a slight whisper of blue… but to the human eye, it’s just basically that deep, dark gray.