Where could there be the most gold in the solar system?

Have you ever seen a planet full of gold? Not only does it exist, but it is also very close to Earth, we even hope to exploit gold mines there.

This special asteroid was first discovered in 1852 and observed with astronomical telescopes at that time. Astronomers of the time called it 16 Psyche or “Spiritual Star”.

It is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Unlike other asteroids in the asteroid belt, 16 Psyche is very large, several times larger than ordinary asteroids. This is why it is also very important in the asteroid belt.

Asteroid 16 Psyche.

Asteroid 16 Psyche.

According to calculations, the diameter of 16 Psyche is about 210 km, and its mass can reach 272 million tons. Although compared to Earth, its mass is not large, only about 1/220. 000 Earth masses, but if you put it on a scale with other asteroids in the asteroid belt, 16 Psyche could be six thousandths of the weight of the entire asteroid belt.

In addition to its unusually large size, The most interesting thing about 16 Psyche is that it contains a lot of gold, estimated to be around 10 billion billion dollars.which is more than 10,000 times the value of the global economy. It is also the place with the most gold in our solar system.

Astronomers used advanced space spectrometer technology to analyze and found that the surface of this asteroid is rich in metals such as gold, platinum, iron, nickel and copper, most of these metals are all precious metals.

This asteroid contains a lot of gold.

This asteroid contains a lot of gold.

NASA scientists believe that some mineral veins on this asteroid contain large quantities of alloy blocks, including gold, platinum and copper, and that their range is also very wide.

So what is the asteroid called? “Spiritual Star” Does this have such a rich and magical “treasure”? Currently, humans do not have any aircraft, spacecraft, or exploration devices that have landed or systematically explored on 16 Psyche. Therefore, the scientific community also has many speculations about the formation of the 16 Psyches.

One of the statements most likely to be accepted by everyone today is 16 Psyche is actually the core of a planet that no longer exists.

It is also the place with the most gold in our solar system.

It is also the place with the most gold in our solar system.

In the astronomy community, the solar system’s asteroid belt has always been an area of ​​interest for astronomers. The asteroids there not only separate rocky planets from other massive planets in the solar system, but also prevent many celestial bodies from outer space from approaching Earth in dense numbers and at speeds of high rotation.

It can be said that without the protection of the asteroid belt, earth civilization could have perished many times. Scientists also have many different theories about what caused the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter to form.

One of the most famous claims is that there was originally no asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Instead, there is a rocky planet about the size of Earth. But over time, for some reason, it was affected by the outside world, so this entire planet was completely destroyed.

It is theorized that 16 Psyche was once the core of a planet.

There is a theory that 16 Psyche was once the core of a planet.

Over time, fragments of these planets rub together and collide, forming countless small celestial fragments. Under the Sun’s gravity, these fragments formed a relatively stable state in the Solar System, then they orbited the Sun and formed today’s asteroid belt.

The fragments of these planets rub together and collide, forming countless small pieces of celestial bodies.

The reason why the volume of 16 Psyche is much larger than that of other asteroids is mainly due to because it was formed from the core of a planet (this is still only a hypothesis).

Because the core of the planet is very durable and rich in metals, its entire structure is very hard, it will not collapse during collisions and friction with ordinary celestial bodies, nor will its volume collapse because of this condition. .

This statement has also been recognized by many astronomers. Because on the Earth we live on, the deepest part of the Earth also contains many different metals.

The core at the center of the Earth is actually mostly iron and nickel, but due to the high temperature inside the core, most of it exists in liquid form. On the Earth’s surface, most of them are made of non-metallic elements such as oxygen, silicon and carbon, which themselves have a weak structure and fragment easily.

The core at the center of the Earth is actually composed mainly of iron and nickel.

The metals on 16 Psyche are mostly precious metals, This further confirms that it is most likely the core of a planet, the remaining parts on the surface of the original planet had an unstable structure, so it quickly broke apart and became a belt of asteroids. The planet is made up of countless fragments wandering around the solar system. .

In addition to the theory that 16 Psyche was once the core of a planet, some conspiracy theorists also believe that 16 Psyche is actually a fragment of a spaceship from a distant alien civilization.

For this reason, some people believe that civilization on current Earth may have originated from alien planets. They believe that this original planet disintegrated and died due to many reasons, then life on this planet migrated to Earth and gradually developed into the current human civilization.

Although such a statement seems bizarre, in fact we have not yet been able to discover the past of 16 Psyche. Therefore, before there is sufficient evidence, these speculations can only be taken as a reference.

In the future, when human aerospace technology develops to a certain level, we will be able to continue to decode the mysteries of 16 Psyche. Of course, that day won’t be far away. Because according to speculation, 16 Psyche is only 370 million kilometers from Earth, this distance is even closer than the distance between Earth and Mars.

Currently, the US Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to travel to this asteroid in 2026 to explore and, more importantly, exploit the immense wealth of 16 Psyche.

Imagine that one day in the future, when the scientific and technological level of humanity has reached a certain level, we will be able to exploit the gold mines on 16 Psyche. Mined minerals return to Earth, so it is possible that gold on Earth will gradually lose its value and become as popular as other common metals.

However, even if we humans have the ability to exploit various resources in space in the future, we must respect a series of related rules and not overexploit them.

Anyway, on Earth all element types are limited and even 16 Psyche is the same. Overexploitation of minerals on 16 Psyche will indirectly affect the security of our planet. However, at present everything is still unknown.

Article source: PNVN