Caltech Scientists Reveal Asteroid 16 Psyche Gold Plated, Could Make World Population Rich

Asteroid 16 Psyche is rich in precious metals (Forbes)

JAKARTA – A research team from the California Institute of Technology has succeeded in revealing the content of precious metals in asteroid 16 Psyche. The asteroid is made of gold which is estimated to be able to make the world's population rich. Researchers have succeeded in making a temperature map so that it can detect the content of precious metals in the asteroid.

Based on the SputnikNews report, professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton has calculated all the metal in the asteroid which is calculated to be worth 10,000 quadrillion US dollars. In comparison, the world economy in 2020 is only able to reach 84 trillion US dollars.

However, the origins of the asteroid 16 Psyche are still shrouded in mystery. Some scientists believe that the asteroid is part of a protoplanet that formed in the early Solar System. At that time the celestial bodies merged and collided.

"We think fragments of the core, mantle and crust of these objects remain today in the form of asteroids. If that's true, it gives us the only real opportunity to study the cores of planet-like objects directly," said Katherine of Caltech de Kleer. , assistant professor of planetary science and astronomy.

The temperature map created by Caltech scientists helps researchers to study the asteroid's surface including its increasing hot and cold temperatures. They managed to reveal the surface of the asteroid which is composed of 30% precious metal and rocks covered in metal grains.

The presence of the temperature map is very important for research conducted by scientists. This is claimed to help NASA in studying asteroid 16 Psyche in the coming year which plans to launch the Probe spacecraft to examine the asteroid.