A Martian meteorite stated to be the biggest piece of Mars on Earth, estimated at $2 – 4 million, is displayed at Sotheby’s, in New York.
Richard Drew/AP
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Richard Drew/AP
NEW YORK — On the market: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated public sale worth: $2 million to $4 million. Why so costly? It is the biggest piece of Mars ever discovered on Earth.
Sotheby’s in New York will probably be auctioning what’s referred to as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as a part of a pure history-themed sale that additionally features a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that is greater than 6 toes (2 meters) tall and almost 11 toes (3 meters) lengthy.
In response to the public sale home, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the floor of Mars by an enormous asteroid strike earlier than touring 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth, the place it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter discovered it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says.
The pink, brown and grey hunk is about 70% bigger than the subsequent largest piece of Mars discovered on Earth and represents almost 7% of all of the Martian materials at the moment on this planet, Sotheby’s says. It measures almost 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters).
“This Martian meteorite is the biggest piece of Mars we’ve ever discovered by a protracted shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and pure historical past at Sotheby’s, stated in an interview. “So it is greater than double the scale of what we beforehand thought was the biggest piece of Mars.”
It’s also a uncommon discover. There are solely 400 Martian meteorites out of the greater than 77,000 formally acknowledged meteorites discovered on Earth, Sotheby’s says.
Hatton stated a small piece of the pink planet remnant was eliminated and despatched to a specialised lab that confirmed it’s from Mars. It was in contrast with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites found in the course of the Viking house probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she stated.
The examination discovered that it’s an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” a sort of Martian rock shaped from the gradual cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and accommodates the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby’s says.
It additionally has a glassy floor, possible as a result of excessive warmth that burned it when it fell via Earth’s environment, Hatton stated. “In order that was their first clue that this wasn’t just a few massive rock on the bottom,” she stated.
The meteorite beforehand was on exhibit on the Italian House Company in Rome. Sotheby’s didn’t disclose the proprietor.
It is not clear precisely when the meteorite hit Earth, however testing exhibits it most likely occurred in recent times, Sotheby’s stated.
The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was present in 1996 close to Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled almost 140 fossil bones with some sculpted supplies to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it is able to exhibit, Sotheby’s says.
The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic interval, about 150 million years in the past, Sotheby’s says. It is public sale estimate is $4 million to $6 million.
Ceratosaurus dinosaurs had been bipeds with brief arms that seem just like the Tyrannosaurus rex, however smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs may develop as much as 25 toes (7.6 meters) lengthy, whereas the Tyrannosaurs rex may very well be 40 toes (12 meters) lengthy.
The skeleton was acquired final yr by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting firm.
Wednesday’s public sale is a part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and options 122 objects, together with different meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
