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Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Biggest piece of Mars on Earth going up for auction in New York
NEW YORK: For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 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 6 feet (2 metres) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 metres) long. According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before travelling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) 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 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters). 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 specialized 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's not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows 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. The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby's says. It's auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long. The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. Wednesday's auction is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Science
- Boston Globe
The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
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 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters). Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up '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 specialized 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. Advertisement 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's not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows 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. The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby's says. It's auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long. The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. Advertisement Wednesday's auction is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
Time Out
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Sotheby's free Geek Week is back with a $6 million dinosaur and Martian meteorites on view
Sotheby's may be better known for Warhols and Picassos, but this week, the Upper East Side auction house is going full geek. Through July 15, the annual Geek Week exhibition returns, transforming the auction house into a free pop-up museum packed with dinosaurs, meteorites, space artifacts and one very famous computer. The star of the show this year is a juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil, one of only four ever found and the only juvenile of its kind. Measuring over 10 feet long with a nearly complete skull, the 150-million-year-old dino was unearthed in Wyoming in 1996 and mounted by Fossilogic for sale. Bidding has already surpassed $3.5 million and Sotheby's expects it to fetch up to $6 million. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sotheby's (@sothebys) And if prehistoric predators aren't your thing, how about a literal piece of Mars? On view is the largest known Martian meteorite on Earth—a 54-pound chunk launched into space by one of just 16 known asteroid impacts strong enough to fling debris off the Red Planet. It eventually crash-landed in the Sahara and is now estimated to sell for $2–4 million. 'That chunk had to be loose enough to break off, and then it had to get on the right trajectory to travel 140 million miles to Earth, and then it had to land in a spot where someone could find it,' said Sotheby's science and natural history vice-president Cassandra Hatton told Gothamist. 'And then we were lucky enough that someone came by who knew enough about meteorites to recognize that it wasn't just a big rock.' Other cosmic treasures include flown Apollo medallions, a lunar checklist carried by Buzz Aldrin and the only known copy of the 1949 BINAC computer manual, considered the first computer technical manual ever written. On the tech side, the 'Romkey' Apple-1 computer headlines the History of Science & Technology sale. Hand-built by Jobs and Wozniak in 1976, it's considered the finest working Apple-1 in existence and carries an estimate of up to $600,000. (One of Jobs' earliest business cards is also up for grabs.) All of this nerdy goodness is free to view at Sotheby's from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (1 p.m. on Sundays). Who knew one of New York's swankiest auction houses could double as the coolest science fair in town?
