Metal in the Dark
Lachan Morlan
December 17th, 2025
Major: Physics (Astronomy)
Genre/Medium: Stained Glass
About the work:
Metal in the Dark is inspired by NASA’s mission to Psyche, a rare M-type asteroid believed to contain exceptionally high amounts of metal. Scientists hypothesize that Psyche may be the exposed metallic core of an early planetesimal, a building block of a planet that lost its outer rock layers during ancient collisions. Studying Psyche could offer a first-ever look at planetary core material, something unreachable on Earth.
The glass formation depicts the asteroid Psyche as it may appear in space, a metal-rich body composed primarily of iron and nickel. The grey and white opalescent glass represents Psyche’s metallic surface, reflecting the way iron-rich material interacts with both light and radar. The black glass embedded across the surface represents hypothesized impact craters, the scars of ancient collisions that shaped the asteroid and may have exposed the metal beneath. This piece was created using traditional stained-glass techniques. Each segment was hand-cut, ground, wrapped in copper foil, and soldered together. I combined opalescent and opaque glass to create contrast and dimension, echoing the difference between reflective metal and the void of space.
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