Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche
© 2020. The Authors. Some years ago, the consensus was that asteroid (16) Psyche was almost entirely metal. New data on density, radar properties, and spectral signatures indicate that the asteroid is something perhaps even more enigmatic: a mixed metal and silicate world. Here we combine observatio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133383 |
| _version_ | 1826210478175551488 |
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| author | Elkins-Tanton, LT Asphaug, E Bell, JF Bercovici, H Bills, B Binzel, R Bottke, WF Dibb, S Lawrence, DJ Marchi, S McCoy, TJ Oran, R Park, RS Peplowski, PN Polanskey, CA Prettyman, TH Russell, CT Schaefer, L Weiss, BP Wieczorek, MA Williams, DA Zuber, MT |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Elkins-Tanton, LT Asphaug, E Bell, JF Bercovici, H Bills, B Binzel, R Bottke, WF Dibb, S Lawrence, DJ Marchi, S McCoy, TJ Oran, R Park, RS Peplowski, PN Polanskey, CA Prettyman, TH Russell, CT Schaefer, L Weiss, BP Wieczorek, MA Williams, DA Zuber, MT |
| author_sort | Elkins-Tanton, LT |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2020. The Authors. Some years ago, the consensus was that asteroid (16) Psyche was almost entirely metal. New data on density, radar properties, and spectral signatures indicate that the asteroid is something perhaps even more enigmatic: a mixed metal and silicate world. Here we combine observations of Psyche with data from meteorites and models for planetesimal formation to produce the best current hypotheses for Psyche's properties and provenance. Psyche's bulk density appears to be between 3,400 and 4,100 kg m−3. Psyche is thus predicted to have between ~30 and ~60 vol% metal, with the remainder likely low-iron silicate rock and not more than ~20% porosity. Though their density is similar, mesosiderites are an unlikely analog to bulk Psyche because mesosiderites have far more iron-rich silicates than Psyche appears to have. CB chondrites match both Psyche's density and spectral properties, as can some pallasites, although typical pallasitic olivine contains too much iron to be consistent with the reflectance spectra. Final answers, as well as resolution of contradictions in the data set of Psyche physical properties, for example, the thermal inertia measurements, may not be resolved until the NASA Psyche mission arrives in orbit at the asteroid. Despite the range of compositions and formation processes for Psyche allowed by the current data, the science payload of the Psyche mission (magnetometers, multispectral imagers, neutron spectrometer, and a gamma-ray spectrometer) will produce data sets that distinguish among the models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:50:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/133383 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:50:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1333832024-01-02T18:34:10Z Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche Elkins-Tanton, LT Asphaug, E Bell, JF Bercovici, H Bills, B Binzel, R Bottke, WF Dibb, S Lawrence, DJ Marchi, S McCoy, TJ Oran, R Park, RS Peplowski, PN Polanskey, CA Prettyman, TH Russell, CT Schaefer, L Weiss, BP Wieczorek, MA Williams, DA Zuber, MT Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences © 2020. The Authors. Some years ago, the consensus was that asteroid (16) Psyche was almost entirely metal. New data on density, radar properties, and spectral signatures indicate that the asteroid is something perhaps even more enigmatic: a mixed metal and silicate world. Here we combine observations of Psyche with data from meteorites and models for planetesimal formation to produce the best current hypotheses for Psyche's properties and provenance. Psyche's bulk density appears to be between 3,400 and 4,100 kg m−3. Psyche is thus predicted to have between ~30 and ~60 vol% metal, with the remainder likely low-iron silicate rock and not more than ~20% porosity. Though their density is similar, mesosiderites are an unlikely analog to bulk Psyche because mesosiderites have far more iron-rich silicates than Psyche appears to have. CB chondrites match both Psyche's density and spectral properties, as can some pallasites, although typical pallasitic olivine contains too much iron to be consistent with the reflectance spectra. Final answers, as well as resolution of contradictions in the data set of Psyche physical properties, for example, the thermal inertia measurements, may not be resolved until the NASA Psyche mission arrives in orbit at the asteroid. Despite the range of compositions and formation processes for Psyche allowed by the current data, the science payload of the Psyche mission (magnetometers, multispectral imagers, neutron spectrometer, and a gamma-ray spectrometer) will produce data sets that distinguish among the models. 2021-10-27T19:52:27Z 2021-10-27T19:52:27Z 2020 2020-05-05T14:46:07Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133383 en 10.1029/2019JE006296 Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ application/pdf American Geophysical Union (AGU) American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| spellingShingle | Elkins-Tanton, LT Asphaug, E Bell, JF Bercovici, H Bills, B Binzel, R Bottke, WF Dibb, S Lawrence, DJ Marchi, S McCoy, TJ Oran, R Park, RS Peplowski, PN Polanskey, CA Prettyman, TH Russell, CT Schaefer, L Weiss, BP Wieczorek, MA Williams, DA Zuber, MT Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title | Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title_full | Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title_fullStr | Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title_short | Observations, Meteorites, and Models: A Preflight Assessment of the Composition and Formation of (16) Psyche |
| title_sort | observations meteorites and models a preflight assessment of the composition and formation of 16 psyche |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133383 |
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