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An extremely rare asteroid made primarily of metal is worth approximately $ 10,000,000,000,000,000,000.
That’s 10,000 quadrillion dollars or one followed by 19 zeros.
While most asteroids are made of rock or ice, the mysterious asteroid 16 Psyche is nearly 27,200,000,000,000,000 (27 quadrillion and two hundred trillion) tons of iron and nickel.
The Hubble Space Telescope has now provided a closer look at the metallic asteroid that is currently orbiting the space between Mars and Jupiter, more than 370 million kilometers from Earth.
A new study in the Planetary Science Journal this week marks the first ultraviolet observations of 16 Psyche, which is one of the largest objects in the main asteroid belt of the solar system.
The asteroid, estimated to be 230 kilometers in diameter, is believed to be the remainder of a planet’s dense core that failed to form after a series of collisions removed the body of its mantle.
“We have seen meteorites that are mostly metallic, but Psyche could be unique in that it could be an asteroid that is totally made of iron and nickel,” Dr Tracy Becker said in a statement.
“The Earth has a metallic core, a mantle and a crust. It is possible that while a Psyche protoplanet was forming, it was hit by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust. “
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NASA is preparing to launch a spacecraft to travel to the asteroid to understand the origin of planetary nuclei, which are the absolute interiors of a planet.
“What makes Psyche and the other asteroids so interesting is that they are considered the building blocks of the solar system,” Becker said.
“Understanding what a planet really makes up and potentially seeing the inside of a planet is fascinating.”
“Once we get to Psyche, we will really understand if this is the case, even if it won’t go as we expect. Whenever there is a surprise, it is always exciting. “
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