On Wednesday, July 16, the largest meteorite from Mars ever found on Earth was sold at a Sotheby's in New York for $4.3 million.
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This rugged 25-kilogram piece of the Red Planet is officially designated NWA 16788.It was found in Northwest Africa — hence the “NWA” in its name. Despite its rarity, the competition for its acquisition was not as fierce as expected. Bidding before the start of the live auction had set the starting price at $2 million, but during the live process, bidding moved slowly. Nevertheless, the item ultimately sold for $4.3 million, exceeding the original estimate of up to $4 million.
As Cassandra Hatton , vice president of science and natural history at Sotheby's, told Space.com , NWA 16788 stands out not only for its size, but also for its appearance. " It looks amazingly like the surface of Mars ," she said. " Most of the other Martian meteorites we find are much smaller, thin slices, and at first glance you wouldn't guess they came from the Red Planet ." To put its size into perspective, this particular meteorite is about 70 percent larger than the next largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth. Hatton also notes that many of the smaller Martian specimens have sold for prices between $20,000 and $80,000 .
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As for the identity of the proud new owner of the largest piece of the Red Planet on Earth? We may never know. It's entirely up to the buyer whether they reveal their identity, and as Hatton says, many choose to remain anonymous.
The Martian meteorite wasn't the only rare item to sell for a staggering sum at Wednesday's auction. The other star of the event was the skeleton of a young Ceratosaurus, estimated to be between 154 and 149 million years old, which sold for $26 million. Many other impressive items changed hands during the auction.
See also: Is the planet Mars really red?
For example, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex foot fossil sold for $1.4 million ; a Megalodon shark tooth from Virginia sold for $18,000 ; a Neanderthal tool set sold for $45,000 ; and a stunning, clear blue specimen of Aquamarine sold for $75,000 .
Source: space.com
