Asteroid 16 Psyche could be worth a cool $10,000 quadrillion

A rare metallic asteroid about three times farther away from the sun than our planet
could yield secrets about Earth's molten core, and scientists want to learn all about it.

A new study published Monday in The Planetary Science Journal takes a closer look at
this mysterious asteroid, using data from the Hubble Telescope.

Located between Mars and Jupiter, Asteroid 16 Psyche is one of the most massive objects
in the asteroid belt in our solar system, and with a diameter of about 140 miles, it is
roughly the same length as Massachusetts (if you exclude Cape Cod).

The exact composition of Psyche is still unclear, but scientists think it's possible the
asteroid is mostly made of iron and nickel. It's been hypothesized that a piece of iron
of its size could be worth about $10,000 quadrillion, more than the entire economy
on our planet.