The Incredible Density Of Asteroid-33 Polyhymnia

Monday - October 30 2023, 17:29 UTC - 1 year ago

The density of 33 Polyhymnia in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was measured in 2012; the 2023 study found that it could be explained by either standard nuclei or alpha matter. It has density in the range of 65 to 85 grams per cubic centimeter and has a mass of about 750 trillion tons.

The mainstream view is that the density calculations for all high density asteroids were measurement errors. 33 Polyhymnia was measured in 2012 in a study with many other asteroids. There is non-peer reviewed 2023 analysis of mass and density that indicates 12.35 grams per cc density for 33 Polyhymnia. There is the need for more and better telescope observations and measurements.

One such rock is 33 Polyhymnia, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists have long been puzzled by its density, as the 34-mile-wide (55 kilometers) object does not have the mass needed to squeeze minerals into ultradense forms.

Elements in the island of nuclear stability around atomic number 164 will populate a mass density range of 36.0–68.4 grams per cubic centimeter. Osmium has a density of 22.6 grams per cubic centimeter. The highest element that is not made via nuclear process or particle accelerators Uranium with atomic number 92. Unstable elements have been made up to atomic number 118. Some previously synthesized elements have yielded tremendous benefits for people. One example, element 95 – Americium – discovered in 1944, is used in smoke detectors and in medical and industrial radiography.

There could be potential uses of future superheavy elements. We have not been able to make them but if they exist in space in asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter then we will not have to make it. We can advance science by going out and finding them.

The purpose of the 2023 study was to determine whether CUDOs with extreme mass density could be achieved without the need for the usually invoked strange or dark matter. They have done this while exploring two different nuclear systems using the relativistic Thomas-Fermi model. From the exploration of both standard nuclei and alpha matter, it is clear that both types of nuclear matter could explain the density seen in CUDOs such as asteroid-33 Polyhymnia.

Asteroid-33 Polyhymnia has density in the range of 65 to 85 grams per cubic centimeter. 33 Polyhymnia has a mass of about 750 trillion tons.