Hubble telescope gives closer look at rare asteroid worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 – CBS News

16 Psyche is one of the most massive objects in the solar system’s main asteroid belt — and it appears to be made entirely of metal worth approximately $10,000 quadrillion.

The study marks the first ultraviolet (UV) observations of the celestial object. New data reveals the asteroid may be made entirely of iron and nickel — found in the dense cores of planets.

“We’ve seen meteorites that are mostly metal, but Psyche could be unique in that it might be an asteroid that is totally made of iron and nickel,” lead author Dr. Tracy Becker said in a statement. “Earth has a metal core, a mantle and crust. It’s possible that as a Psyche protoplanet was forming, it was struck by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust.”

asteroid-16-psyche.jpg
The massive asteroid 16 Psyche is the subject of a new study by Southwest Research Institute scientist Tracy Becker, who observed the object at ultraviolet wavelengths.MAXAR/ASU/P. RUBIN/NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Source: Hubble telescope gives closer look at rare asteroid worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 – CBS News

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