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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Asteroids in disguise: violent impacts might explain space-rock mystery

Metal-rich bodies could be hiding beneath the glassy remnants of celestial smash-ups.
Illustration of the asteroid 16 Psyche.

The asteroid Psyche (artist’s impression) is one of the relatively small number of metal-rich asteroids identified so far. Models predict more such objects. Credit: Maxar/ASU/P. Rubin/NASA/JPL-Caltech

Cosmic collisions might have shrouded many asteroids’ true identities by cloaking them in glassy rubble.

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Nature 573, 9 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02580-x

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