Latest news with #CostaRican
The Print
2 days ago
- Science
- The Print
Sotheby's poised for red hot bidding battle as largest Martian meteorite goes up for auction in NY
With a reddish-brown Martian feel, the 24.67 kg meteorite is expected to attract intense bidding in New York. Measuring 15 inches wide, the meteorite dwarfs the previous largest Martian specimen by 70 percent. The NWA 16788 was discovered in Niger and is assumed to have travelled 140 million miles to reach Earth. As opposed to meteorites that erode over centuries, it has minimal weathering, a point highlighted by meteoriticists. Bengaluru: The largest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction Wednesday in New York. The bid amount for this meteorite collision remnant is set to open at USD 1.6 million, according to Sotheby's auction house. It was in the 1980s that the scientists first started to confirm meteorites from Mars with the help of isotopic analysis—a technique used to understand the age, origin, and chemical composition of a sample. Since then, the demand for authentic pieces has grown. The global craze for astronomical artefacts reportedly surged in the 2010s, with meteorite prices climbing to record figures. In 2013, Chelyabinsk meteorite fragments were sold, with one small piece reaching a price of around $7,000 back then. In 2022, a Costa Rican meteorite was sold for $35,000. In the UK in 2021, 15 gm of Winchcombe meteorite fetched $3,500. In this case, the meteorite is expected to fetch $4 million. The Martian rock is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025, featuring more than a hundred lots, including fossils and gem minerals. A juvenile dinosaur skeleton is also set for the bid. The Ceratosaurus was discovered in 1996 at Wyoming's Bone Cabin Quarry, a dinosaur fossil site. The event opens a market for rare scientific and natural history artifacts. CNN reported that some palaeontologists are not happy with the auction. The rock should not be hoarded by a private collector, but it deserves a museum for science and the public, according to Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh. Beyond the scientific value, NWA 16788 represents a tangible piece of another planet. In the case of institutions, it's an opportunity to understand the clues about geology. The Martian meteorite is a rare specimen, as only 400 out of 77,000 documented meteorites on Earth originate from Mars, according to Sotheby's auction house. A fragment of this meteorite was analysed in a specialised laboratory, confirming its Martian origin by matching its chemical composition to samples collected during the 1976 Viking space probe mission. The meteorite is assumed to have formed from slowly cooled Martian magma and contains minerals like pyroxene and olivine, giving it a unique texture. The glassy surface as seen is probably due to the intense heat during atmospheric entry. The rock was previously displayed at the Italian Space Agency, Rome, but the meteorite owner remains confidential as the auction house did not reveal the name. The exact arrival date on Earth is still unknown. That said, tests suggest it landed in recent years, according to the New York auction house. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla carried sleeping water bears to ISS. How experiment could unlock space travel secrets
Cosmopolitan
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
‘Bachelor in Paradise's Jess Edwards Slid Into Spencer Conley's DMs
After a two-year wait, Bachelor in Paradise is back on our screens for season 10, and the sparks have already begun to fly. One of the first couples to hit it off: Jessica Edwards from Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor and Spencer Conley from Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette. In the season premiere, Spencer volunteered to give Jess a tour of the Costa Rican hotel upon her arrival, which she happily accepted. 'I did have my sights set on him coming into this,' she revealed in her confessional. 'He's definitely at the tippy-top of my list.' But apparently, it wasn't just lust at first sight. During a recent interview with Parade, Jess confessed to shooting her shot with Spencer long before arriving in Costa Rica. 'I followed him on Instagram while Jenn's season was airing because I thought he was cute,' Jess confessed. 'I will say, I definitely slid into the DMs once or twice, like, 'Cute dog,' or, 'Oh my gosh, I need to make that recipe!'' It makes sense that the two made that instantaneous connection, since Jess went in with an objective. 'He was on my radar already, so seeing him there, I was just so excited,' she continued. 'He was my number one, I was going to immediately talk to him on day one, so I thought, 'How do I shoot my shot right now? I'm gonna go see if he'll give me a tour!'' And while Jess did have a nice date with late arrival Sam McKinney (who was—spoiler!—sent home in the first episode), she told Parade that he was a bit too 'reserved' for her liking. 'I was definitely comparing and contrasting, so I think at the end of the day, my connection with Spencer was just so much stronger,' she explained. Can't wait to see what's in store for these two lovebirds!
7 days ago
- Politics
Costa Rican lawmaker says U.S. revoked her visa over alleged ties to Communist Party
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- The vice president of Costa Rica's Congress said Thursday that the U.S. embassy told her the U.S. had revoked her visa because of alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party. Vanessa Castro of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, denied such ties and said that media outlets allied with President Rodrigo Chaves knew her U.S. visa had been revoked before she did. Castro was one of several Costa Rican figures who came forward Wednesday to say their U.S. visas had been cancelled, including the president of the Congress, who belongs to the opposition National Liberation Party, and two justices on the Supreme Court's constitutional chamber who have issued rulings that Chaves disliked. 'I went and I checked and they told me in the embassy that they had received information that, among other things, I had connections with members of the Chinese Communist Party,' Castro said. 'You all know me, I have a pretty public life, can you imagine I have a relationship with members of the Chinese Communist Party?' She also noted that she had supported U.S.-Costa Rica initiatives like a regional free trade agreement and joint patrols against drug traffickers. Castro said media outlets that support Chaves' administration showed up at her office to ask about the visa before she had even been notified. The U.S. embassy said its policy is to not comment on individual visa cases. Chaves played up the visa cancellations Wednesday, saying that 'it seemed extremely embarrassing to him that' such important political figures as Castro and Congress President Rodrigo Arias should be unable to travel to the United States. In April, former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, Rodrigo Arias' brother, said the U.S. had cancelled his visa without explanation. He speculated that Washington may not have liked his comments on the war in Ukraine, the U.S. trade conflict with China, or the situation in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat to Central America in February and curbing China's influence in the region was one of the trip's central talking points.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Costa Rican lawmaker says the US revoked her visa over alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The vice president of Costa Rica's Congress said Thursday that the U.S. embassy told her the U.S. had revoked her visa because of alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party. Vanessa Castro of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, denied such ties and said that media outlets allied with President Rodrigo Chaves knew her U.S. visa had been revoked before she did. Castro was one of several Costa Rican figures who came forward Wednesday to say their U.S. visas had been cancelled, including the president of the Congress, who belongs to the opposition National Liberation Party, and two justices on the Supreme Court's constitutional chamber who have issued rulings that Chaves disliked. 'I went and I checked and they told me in the embassy that they had received information that, among other things, I had connections with members of the Chinese Communist Party,' Castro said. 'You all know me, I have a pretty public life, can you imagine I have a relationship with members of the Chinese Communist Party?' She also noted that she had supported U.S.-Costa Rica initiatives like a regional free trade agreement and joint patrols against drug traffickers. Castro said media outlets that support Chaves' administration showed up at her office to ask about the visa before she had even been notified. The U.S. embassy said its policy is to not comment on individual visa cases. Chaves played up the visa cancellations Wednesday, saying that 'it seemed extremely embarrassing to him that' such important political figures as Castro and Congress President Rodrigo Arias should be unable to travel to the United States. In April, former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, Rodrigo Arias' brother, said the U.S. had cancelled his visa without explanation. He speculated that Washington may not have liked his comments on the war in Ukraine, the U.S. trade conflict with China, or the situation in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat to Central America in February and curbing China's influence in the region was one of the trip's central talking points.
Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Costa Rican lawmaker says the US revoked her visa over alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The vice president of Costa Rica's Congress said Thursday that the U.S. embassy told her the U.S. had revoked her visa because of alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party. Vanessa Castro of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, denied such ties and said that media outlets allied with President Rodrigo Chaves knew her U.S. visa had been revoked before she did. Castro was one of several Costa Rican figures who came forward Wednesday to say their U.S. visas had been cancelled, including the president of the Congress, who belongs to the opposition National Liberation Party, and two justices on the Supreme Court's constitutional chamber who have issued rulings that Chaves disliked. 'I went and I checked and they told me in the embassy that they had received information that, among other things, I had connections with members of the Chinese Communist Party,' Castro said. 'You all know me, I have a pretty public life, can you imagine I have a relationship with members of the Chinese Communist Party?' She also noted that she had supported U.S.-Costa Rica initiatives like a regional free trade agreement and joint patrols against drug traffickers. Castro said media outlets that support Chaves' administration showed up at her office to ask about the visa before she had even been notified. The U.S. embassy said its policy is to not comment on individual visa cases. Chaves played up the visa cancellations Wednesday, saying that 'it seemed extremely embarrassing to him that' such important political figures as Castro and Congress President Rodrigo Arias should be unable to travel to the United States. In April, former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, Rodrigo Arias' brother, said the U.S. had cancelled his visa without explanation. He speculated that Washington may not have liked his comments on the war in Ukraine, the U.S. trade conflict with China, or the situation in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat to Central America in February and curbing China's influence in the region was one of the trip's central talking points.
