Using infrared observations, we learned that the asteroid Psyche is rich in material and has other interesting features for the Psyche probe.
NASA’s Psyche probe is the target of the recently launched theory, the asteroid of the same name (16) Psyche. Psyche is one of the largest globular asteroids, which according to previous observers is rich in elements, but its detailed properties are not yet known precisely. The researchers are trying to find out as much as possible about the asteroid during the probe’s nearly six-year journey and before it starts, so that they can plan the scientific program of the probe orbiting the giant planet as precisely as possible. Part of these studies was the series of observations that were completed at the beginning of last summer with NASA’s DLR flight infrared observatory, the then decommissioned SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy).
The SOFIA infrared observatory has a diameter of 2.7 meters and is mounted on a Boeing-747SP aircraft. Between 2010 and 2022, SOFIA has flown 291 scientific missions, and at the end of its service, the spacecraft and the TV will be sent to a museum in Arizona. (Kp: NASA / Jim Ross)
NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) present a short video of SOFIA, a flying infrared observatory. (Source: NASA)
According to Hungarian hypotheses originating from Psyche, the asteroid could have been the iron-rich inner core of a larger body, a planetesimal or a developing planet. It is assumed that the planetesimal’s original surface material was swept away by the continuous blasts during the early stages of the development of the Solar System, and only the core of the gite body remained, which is known today as the asteroid Psyche.
Maybe this is what the planet Psyche looks like. (Fantasiaraj: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU)
Although the hypothesis sounds convincing, and many observational results seem to be false, researchers may be uncertain about the natural and physical properties of Psyche. Therefore, in February 2022, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) conducted infrared observations with the SOFIA observatory. In doing so, they managed to observe Psych from all directions, and from the results they were able to deduce the composition of the material that makes up the surface, in which they obtained information that cannot be obtained with surface observatories. For their measurements, the reflected light from SOFIA was analyzed with the central infrared camera of the TV. Because of the amount of energy radiated into the world by the asteroid and the porosity of the body.
Asteroid Psyche on images taken with the VLT (Very Large Telescope) in Chile. (Kp: ESO / LAM)
They found that the radiation from the surface of Psyche in the examined region does not show a wavelength dependence, which is usually a characteristic of hot objects. This means that Psyche is very likely a dense body, which is in line with previous assumptions. It is also interesting that the so-called “10-micron plate” could not be detected in the data, which suggests a porous structure on the surface. At the same time, earlier scientists showed the 10-micron plate, but they examined the southern plus side of Psyche, while SwRI research examined the gite body from the technical plus direction. According to one of the possible explanations for the deviation, the southern plus corner wine material was ejected during the impact on another part of the surface and fell back onto the surface. This is supported by those earlier observers, according to which large craters can be found on the surface of Psyche.
In order to learn the exact details, you will actually have to wait until 2029, when the Psyche probe will arrive at the asteroid and orbit around it to observe it. In any case, the interesting properties of the asteroid also indicate that the NASA specialists made the right decision when they chose (16) Psych at the very beginning of the 14th mission of the Discovery program. If it is proven that Psyche is indeed the remnant of a former giant core that is in the process of formation, then we can learn more about the formation process of interstellar planets with dense cores.
The video presents the asteroid Psyche and the probe mission of the same name. (Sources: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Arizona State Univ. / Peter Rubin / SSL)
Link articles:
GYORSHR: ton a Psyche
A Psyche trkpe
Less fm, more k
Mr is not a planet, not yet a star
Link links:
SOFIA examined asteroid Psyche (nasaspaceflight.com)
Mzeumba kerl a NASA repl obszervatriuma (Space.com)
2023-11-06 06:15:00
#rvilg.hu #Psyche #characterized #fmes
