JULY 16 – An “unbelievably uncommon” piece of Mars – the most important ever discovered on Earth – has bought for $4.3m (£3.2m) at a New York public sale on Wednesday.
The meteorite referred to as NWA 16788 weighs 54lb (24.5kg) and is almost 15in (38.1cm) lengthy, in response to Sotheby’s.
It was found in a distant area of Niger in November 2023 and is 70% bigger than the following greatest piece of Mars that has been recovered, the public sale home mentioned.
Meteorites are the stays of rock left after an asteroid or comet passes by Earth’s environment.
Sotheby’s public sale home described the meteorite, a reddish brown rock, as “unbelievably uncommon”. Only about 400 Martian meteorites have ever been discovered on Earth.
“This is the most important piece of Mars on planet Earth. The odds of this getting from there to listed here are astronomically small,” Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman of science and pure historical past at Sotheby’s, mentioned in a video posted on-line.
“Remember that roughly 70% of Earth’s floor is roofed in water. So we’re extremely fortunate that this landed on dry land as a substitute of the center of the ocean the place we might truly discover it.”
It stays unclear the place the meteorite will find yourself as details about the sale will stay personal.
Additional taxes and charges introduced the overall value of the rock as much as about $5.3m, Sotheby’s mentioned.
At the Wednesday public sale, which featured greater than 100 gadgets, a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic interval bought for $26m and the cranium of a Pachycephalosaurus bought for $1.4m.
By BBC
