Do asteroids contain platinum?
Asteroids are a class of small rocky and metallic bodies orbiting the sun. Asteroid composition varies widely, from volatile-rich bodies to metallic bodies with high concentrations of rare metals such as gold, silver, and platinum in addition to more common elements such as iron and nickel.
Do comets have platinum?
Archaeologists found an abundance of platinum — an element that can be associated with cosmic objects like asteroids or comets — at 11 Clovis excavation sites across the United States.
What metals are found in asteroids?
Minerals that can be found in asteroids are: iron, nickel, iridium, palladium, platinum, gold, and magnesium to name a few. Metal, however, is not the only thing that would be mined from asteroids. There is a certain interest in the mining of water.
What metallic elements are found in asteroid and meteors?
The metallic asteroids are composed of up to 80% iron and 20% a mixture of nickel, iridium, palladium, platinum, gold, magnesium and other precious metals such as osmium, ruthenium and rhodium. There are a few that are made up of half silicate and half metallic.
Is platinum an element?
platinum (Pt), chemical element, the best known and most widely used of the six platinum metals of Groups 8–10, Periods 5 and 6, of the periodic table. A very heavy, precious, silver-white metal, platinum is soft and ductile and has a high melting point and good resistance to corrosion and chemical attack.
What are comets mostly made of?
Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock, and ices. They range from a few miles to tens of miles wide, but as they orbit closer to the Sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet.
Are comets made of metal?
Asteroids are made up of metals and rocky material, while comets are made up of ice, dust and rocky material.
Do asteroids have precious metals?
Now researchers have uncovered two metal-rich near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) that could one day be mined for iron, nickel and cobalt could for use on Earth or in space.
What is platinum used for?
Platinum is used in catalytic converters, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts and electrodes, platinum resistance thermometers, dentistry equipment, and jewelry.
What are comets made?
Why is the composition of asteroids different from comets?
The main difference between asteroids and comets is their composition, as in, what they are made of. Asteroids are made up of metals and rocky material, while comets are made up of ice, dust and rocky material. Asteroids formed much closer to the Sun, where it was too warm for ices to remain solid.
How do comets asteroids and meteors differ from each other?
Meteor: A meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up. Asteroid: A rocky object that orbits the sun and has an average size between a meteoroid and a planet. Comet: An object made mostly of ice and dust, often with a gas halo and tail, that sometimes orbits the sun.