Astronomers have created the most precise depiction of the surface of 16-Psyche, an asteroid thought to offer insights into how planets originated in our Solar System.
16-Psyche is an M-type asteroid (meaning it has a high metallic content) orbiting the Sun in the main asteroid belt, with a unique potato-like form, according to Ars Technica.
Psyche is thought to be the exposed metallic core of a protoplanet (planetesimal) from the early days of our Solar System, with the crust and mantle stripped away by a collision (or numerous impacts) with other objects.
Scientists have recently decided that the mass and density calculations do not support a fully metallic residual core. Instead, a complex combination of metals and silicates is more plausible.
Alternatively, the asteroid might have been a parent body for a specific type of stony-iron meteorite that broke apart and re-accreted into a metal-silicate mix. Perhaps, it's 1 Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter's orbits-except that it's 16 years old. While cooling, Psyche may have gone through a phase of iron volcanism, leaving highly enriched metals in the volcanic cores.
An artist’s concept of asteroid 16 Psyche.
Stunning Map Reveals Colorful Psyche History
The team presents its map in a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. Researchers made the map using a mix of observations from a massive array of ground telescopes in northern Chile and state-of-the-art simulations.
According to the experts behind the latest study, the map indicates enormous metal-rich portions of the asteroid and a massive depression with a distinct surface texture, which might represent a crater filled with sand.
It implies that Psyche has a stunning range of abilities. The rocky portions resemble the remains of an old mantle comparable to Earth's. In contrast, craters containing metallic debris support the notion that the asteroid's ancient core cooled and ejected metallic lava eruptions.
"Psyche's surface is very heterogeneous," says lead author Saverio Cambioni, the Crosby Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) per MIT News.
"It's an evolved surface, and these maps confirm that metal-rich asteroids are interesting, enigmatic worlds. It's another reason to look forward to the Psyche mission going to the asteroid."
New maps of asteroid Psyche reveal an ancient world of metal and rock: The varied surface suggests a dynamic history, which could include metallic eruptions, asteroid-shaking impacts, and a lost rocky mantle. https://t.co/ZzAMSZ012A pic.twitter.com/sekkGy0Uni
— Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (@MIT) June 15, 2022
What the Map Colors Mean
According to Republic World, the map on the left depicts surface qualities on Psyche, ranging from sandy (purple/low) to rocky (yellow/high). In contrast, the map on the right depicts metal abundances on Psyche, ranging from low (purple) to high (yellow) (yellow). The astronomers verified that Psyche is rich in metals using ALMA data, although the amount of metals and silicates varies over its surface. Scientists think the asteroid had a silicate-rich mantle that was degraded after many planetary encounters for the said reason.
They also discovered that as the asteroid spins, the material at the bottom of Psyche's crater changes temperature quicker than the stuff along the rim. It shows that the crater's floor is covered with "ponds" of fine-grained material, while the rim is formed of stony elements that heat up slowly, according to specialists.
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