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Ageing rather well

Ageing rather well

PHOTO: REUTERS
A handler organises a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton during the press preview yesterday of Sotheby's Natural History auction in New York City.
The carnivorous dinosaur lived about 150 million years ago and was found in Wyoming in 1996.
Sotheby's listed a guide price of $US4 million-$US6 million ($NZ6.7m-$NZ10m) for the skeleton which is about 1.9m tall and 3.3m long.
It one of only four Ceratosaurus known in the world, and the only juvenile.
The auction is next week.
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Biggest piece of Mars on Earth going up for auction in New York
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Biggest piece of Mars on Earth going up for auction in New York

For sale: A 25kg rock. Estimated auction price: $3.3 million to $7 million. Why so expensive? It's the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth. Sotheby's in New York will be auctioning what's known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that's more than 2m tall and nearly 3m long. According to the auction house, the meteorite was believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before traveling 225 million kilometres to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby's says. The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby's says. It measures nearly 375mm by 279mm by 152mm. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot," Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in an interview. 'So it's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.' ADVERTISEMENT It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby's says. Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialised lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said. The examination found that it is an 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby's says. It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth's atmosphere, Hatton said. 'So that was their first clue that this wasn't just some big rock on the ground,' she said. The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby's did not disclose the owner. It was not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing showed it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby's said. The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it's ready to exhibit, Sotheby's says. ADVERTISEMENT The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby's says. It's auction estimate is $6.6 million to $10 million. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 7.6m long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 12m long. The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. Wednesday's auction was part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 and featured 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.

Ageing rather well
Ageing rather well

Otago Daily Times

time09-07-2025

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Ageing rather well

PHOTO: REUTERS A handler organises a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton during the press preview yesterday of Sotheby's Natural History auction in New York City. The carnivorous dinosaur lived about 150 million years ago and was found in Wyoming in 1996. Sotheby's listed a guide price of $US4 million-$US6 million ($NZ6.7m-$NZ10m) for the skeleton which is about 1.9m tall and 3.3m long. It one of only four Ceratosaurus known in the world, and the only juvenile. The auction is next week.

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time09-06-2025

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What is the High Seas Treaty to protect world oceans?

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