Metal asteroids may have once had iron-spewing volcanoes

An upcoming NASA mission could look for signs of past ‘ferrovolcanism’ on asteroid Psyche

asteroid cross-section illustration

FULL METAL ASTEROID  Long ago, molten iron could have erupted from the metal asteroid Psyche (illustrated in cross section) in a process dubbed ferrovolcanism, new studies suggest.

Elena Hartley

Imagine a metal asteroid spewing molten iron, and you’ve got the gist of ferrovolcanism — a new type of planetary activity proposed recently by two research teams.