There are 118 elements that make up the Periodic Table, organized by their atomic number — the number of protons in the element's atomic nucleus. For their new study, researchers from the University of Arizona, suggest that asteroid 33 Polyhymnia might contain never-before-seen material that reaches that exact threshold. It "would have a density between 36.0 and 68.4 g/cm3: a range that approaches the expected value for asteroid Polyhymnia," according to a press release. The densest element on Earth can't compareAsteroid 33 Polyhymnia might be what's called a compact ultradense object, or CUDO. These objects are thought to have densities far greater than the density of anything on Earth and therefore contain elements scientists have yet to discover.

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Persons: —, Jan Rafelski Organizations: Service, University of Arizona