A unique asteroid hurtling through space puts our global economy to shame – with an out-of-this-world estimated worth of $10,000 quadrillion, according to a report.
NASA’s Hubble Telescope has discovered “16 Psyche,” a rare piece of heavy metal that is one of the largest objects in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, Forbes reports.
Psyche, which is located about 230 million miles from Earth, appears to be metallic, unlike most asteroids, which are usually rocky or icy, according to the outlet.
That is what makes the massive asteroid so valuable.
To put its potential value into perspective, the entire global economy was worth about $142 trillion last year.
“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,” Dr. Tracy Becker, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in in San Antonio, and author of a paper published in the Planetary Science Journal told Forbes.
The metallic object is so dense that is believed to be the leftover core of a planet that failed during its formation — a “protoplanet.”
Iron and nickel are often found in the metal cores of planets, as well as in metallic meteorites.
“Earth has a metal core, a mantle and crust,” Becker told Forbes. “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.”
The Hubble Space Telescope observed Psyche at two points in its rotation and also viewed it in ultraviolet wavelengths of light to get as much detail as possible of the surface.
“We were able to identify for the first time on any asteroid what we think are iron oxide ultraviolet absorption bands,” Becker said. “This is an indication that oxidation is happening on the asteroid, which could be a result of the solar wind hitting the surface.”
He noted that the presence of even a small amount of iron could dominate ultraviolet observations – so it could just be that 10 percent of the surface is actual iron.
But while observing the asteroid, it appeared increasingly reflective at deeper UV wavelengths.
“This is something that we need to study further,” Becker added. “This could be indicative of it being exposed in space for so long. This type of UV brightening is often attributed to space weathering.”
NASA plans to get some answers by visiting Psyche in a mission expected to launch in August 2022 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
The orbiter is due to reach Psyche in 2026 and spend at least 21 months in orbit mapping and studying its properties.
“To understand what really makes up a planet and to potentially see the inside of a planet is fascinating,” Becker told Forbes.
“Once we get to Psyche, we’re really going to understand if that’s the case, even if it doesn’t turn out as we expect … any time there’s a surprise, it’s always exciting,” he added.