Psyche Asteroid Rotation Animation
There are lots of ways in which Psyche (an asteroid) is different from Earth (a planet).
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- Psyche’s size. If Earth were the size of a grapefruit, Psyche would be the size of a poppy seed!
- Psyche’s location in the solar system. Psyche is out in the outer asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter—more than three times farther away from the Sun than Earth.
- How Psyche rotates.
How is Psyche’s rotation different, exactly? Earth rotates around its axis. As NASA’s Space Place explains, Earth’s axis is a tilted, imaginary pole going right through the center of Earth from ‘top’ to ‘bottom.’ Earth spins around this pole, making one complete turn each day.
But Psyche’s axis is turned on its side (as shown in this artist’s animation) compared to Earth’s! So, if you imagine Earth rotating like a child’s toy top, you can imagine that Psyche instead rotates on its side like a rotisserie chicken!
How does this affect Psyche?
On Earth, a tilted axis causes the seasons. Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun’s most direct rays. So, when the North Pole tilts toward the Sun, it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And when the South Pole tilts toward the Sun, it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Psyche also has seasons, but not like we are used to thinking of them here on Earth. Since Psyche rotates almost completely on its side, its surface experiences extended periods of direct sunlight at one pole (when that pole is experiencing its summer) and extended periods of complete darkness at the other pole (when that pole is experiencing its winter).
What does this mean for the temperatures on Psyche?
Scientists have modeled that the warmest temperature at Psyche is still very cold by our standards: around -100 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius). But the coldest? A lot colder! At one of the poles in the middle of its winter (when that pole is getting no sun at all), Psyche could be around -340F (-200C). Brrr!
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Produced by: True Story Films