Giant Martian Rock Sells for $5.3 Million at Auction
A 54-pound meteorite from Mars, the largest ever found on Earth, was auctioned for over $5 million in New York. The rock, named NWA 16788, traveled 140 million miles to Earth after being blown off Mars by an asteroid. Only 400 Martian meteorites exist on Earth out of over 77,000 recognized meteorites. The auction also featured a juvenile dinosaur skeleton that sold for over $30 million.
The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5 million at an auction in New York. The rock, named NWA 16788, was discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger and traveled 140 million miles to Earth. The estimated sale price was $2 million to $4 million. The buyer's identity was not disclosed, and the final bid was $4.3 million.
The Martian meteorite weighs 54 pounds and is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth. It represents nearly 7% of all Martian material on Earth. Only 400 Martian meteorites have been found out of over 77,000 recognized meteorites on Earth.
The meteorite is confirmed to be from Mars based on its chemical composition. It is an olivine-microgabbroic shergottite, formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. The meteorite has a glassy surface due to the high heat during its entry into Earth's atmosphere.
The auction also included a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis dinosaur skeleton that sold for over $30 million. The skeleton, from the late Jurassic period, was found in Wyoming and assembled with nearly 140 fossil bones. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex but smaller in size.
According to the source: AP News.
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