The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a clear picture of the 16 Psyche asteroid. The asteroid is one of the most valuable asteroids known to be in existence, Forbes reported. Some estimates place the value of the asteroid at $10,000 quadrillion. To put that in perspective, the global economy was worth about $142 trillion in 2019.
So why is there such a large price tag put on the 16 Psyche asteroid? Well, for starters — it’s massive! The asteroid is roughly 140 miles wide! In addition to the massive size of the asteroid, it appears to be made out of pure metal, which is very rare for an asteroid.
“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 San Antonio, Texas, told Forbes.
Psyche is roughly 230 million miles away from Earth and it’s one of the largest objects in the solar systems asteroid belt — which is located between Mars and Jupiter.
Researches actually call the asteroid a ‘protoplanet’ because of it’s large size and because it is so dense and metallic. It is believed to be the core of a planet that failed to fully form. Many planets, including Earth, have a metal core, typically composed of iron and nickel.
Even though the Hubble has finally been able to take an image of the asteroid, it won’t be until someone actually visits the surface of the asteroid — that will reveal what it is really like.