Latest news with #anonymousbidder
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A Mars rock was expected to sell at auction for $4 million. The final bid was for more
The largest piece of Mars to ever make its way to Earth is now also the most valuable meteorite in the world. A chunk of the Martian surface that at some point crashed into Earth following an unlikely cosmic journey sold Wednesday, July 16 to an anonymous bidder for a record $5.3 million at a Sotheby's New York auction. The final price tag, which came after various fees and costs were added, is the most any meteorite of any origin has ever sold for at auction, Sotheby's said in a post on social media site X. The sale also surpasses the $2-4 million the Mars rock was expected to fetch. What is the Mars rock? The large space rock, which has the scientific name of NWA 16788, had its Martian origins validated by the Meteoritical Society, which included it in its Meteoritical Bulletin, the global journal of record for meteor-related science. The meteorite was previously on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome and at a private gallery in Arezzo, Italy, in Tuscany, before it landed in Sotheby's auction. Mars rock sells for $5.3 million: Who bought it? Marketed by Sotheby's as "the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth," the cosmic object was expected to sell for up to $4 million. The final bid was $4.3 million. The official final sale price was then about $5.3 million after various fees and costs were added, multiple outlets reported, including the Associated Press and ABC News. Sotheby's, a British-founded auctioneer of art and collectibles based in New York City, auctioned off the meteorite, along with more than 100 other items, Wednesday, July 16. Sotheby's has not publicly identified the buyer. What are meteorites? Rocks in space are known as meteoroids. If those space rocks enter Earth's atmosphere, they become meteors that streak across the sky in events colloquially referred to as "shooting stars." Meteors – or fragments of them – that survive their atmospheric trip and land on the surface without burning up become meteorites, according to NASA. Martian meteorite is largest on Earth: How big is it? The Martian meteorite is 54 pounds, or about the weight of a standard bag of cement. Measuring nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches, the space rock is approximately 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth. In fact, it is so large that it represents approximately 6.5% of all Martian material ever found on Earth. How did Martian space rock get to Earth? NWA 16788 was discovered Nov. 16, 2023, by a meteorite hunter in Niger's remote Agadez region in the Sahara Desert. Featuring an unmistakable reddish Martian hue, NWA 16788's internal composition suggests it was blasted from the surface of Mars by a powerful asteroid strike. Intense enough to turn some of the meteorite's minerals into glass, the asteroid strike sent the rock hurtling through space, where it miraculously made it through Earth's atmosphere without burning up, Sotheby's said in an auction house video. Because the meteorite shows signs of minimal Earthly weathering, and its chemical makeup has not significantly changed, experts believe it reached our planet in recent years. On a planet mostly covered in water, discovering meteorites on land is incredibly rare. And Mars meteorites are even more elusive on Earth. Of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, only 400 are Martian meteorites, according to Sotheby's. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mars rock auction $5.3 million bid surpasses Sotheby's expectations Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Largest piece of Mars on Earth sells for $5.3M in Sotheby's auction
July 17 (UPI) -- A meteorite from Mars, the largest piece ever found on Earth, sold for $5.3 million to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Wednesday. Bidding for the 54-pound, reddish-brown object began at $2 million, according to ABC News, and it went to $4.3 million plus $1 million in fees and taxes. The original owner wasn't disclosed. The rock, known as NWA 16788, is 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars recovered, according to Sothebys. It is nearly 15 inches long. "This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth," Cassandra Hatton, vice chairwoman of the science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in a video posted online. "Remember that approximately 70% of Earth's surface is covered in water. So we're incredibly lucky that this landed on dry land instead of the ocean where we could actually find it." The auction house said the rock broke from Mars after an asteroid strike and went more than 140 million miles to Earth. The piece crashed in the Saharan Desert in Nigeria's Agadez region. It was discovered by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, according to Sotheby's. Martian meteorites make up 400 of the 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, according to the auction house. Testing determined it is an olivine-gabbroic shergottite, which is a relatively new type of meteorite from Mars. That material is also found on the Earth's upper crust. The rocket is composed of 21.2% of a glass known as maskelynite, which was produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface and forced the object off the planet's surface. Only about 19 craters are big enough to produce meteorites on Earth. "This isn't just a miraculous find, but a massive data set that can help us unlock the secrets of our neighbor, the red planet," Hatton said. The rock was on public display at the Italian Space Agency in Rome and in a private gallery in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 2024. "It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch," Steve Brusatte, professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the auction. The Martian rock was part of Geek Week with sales of items related to natural history, science and technology history, and space exploration. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
16-07-2025
- Science
- CNN
World's biggest Mars rock sold for $5.3 million at auction
A meteorite that is the largest known piece of Mars on Earth has sold for $5.3 million, with taxes and fees, to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's New York auction Wednesday. Known as NWA 16788, the meteorite weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), massive compared with most Martian meteorites, which tend to be small fragments, auction house Sotheby's said in a July 8 statement. Meteorites are what's left when a comet, asteroid or a meteoroid survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere. Discovered in November 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger, NWA 16788 is a 'monumental specimen' that is around 70% larger than the next biggest piece of Mars ever found on Earth, according to Sotheby's. It is also incredibly rare: only around 400 Martian meteorites have ever been found on Earth. 'NWA 16788 is a discovery of extraordinary significance — the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, and the most valuable of its kind ever offered at auction,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in the statement. 'Weathered by its journey through space and time, its immense size and unmistakable red color sets it apart as a once-in-a-generation find. This remarkable meteorite provides a tangible connection to the red planet — our celestial neighbor that has long captured the human imagination,' she added. Analysis of the meteorite's internal composition has revealed that it was probably removed from the Martian surface and blasted into space by an asteroid impact that was so powerful it turned parts of the meteorite into glass. A glassy crust can also be seen on its surface, formed as it hurtled through Earth's atmosphere, according to Sotheby's. For some, the fact that the meteorite was auctioned off rather than donated to science is cause for concern. 'It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch. It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied, and where it can be enjoyed by children and families and the public at large,' Steve Brusatte, a professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the sale. But for Julia Cartwright, a planetary scientist and Independent Research Fellow in the Institute for Space/School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leicester, England, there is a balance to be struck. 'Ultimately, if there was no market for searching, collecting and selling meteorites, we would not have anywhere near as many in our collections — and this drives the science!' she told CNN on July 9, describing a 'symbiotic relationship' between researchers and collectors. 'If samples weren't being found, we would not have anywhere near as much to study, and so wouldn't know as much as we do,' added Cartwright. While she believes it would be great if this 'really fabulous rock' were to be studied or displayed for the public to see, Cartwright underlined that a reference sample from the meteorite has been saved at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. While we don't know where the meteorite will end up, Cartwright believes that 'the scientific interest will remain, and the new owner may be very interested in learning from it, so we may still gather lots of science from this,' she said. In February 2021, a Martian meteorite with the planet's atmosphere entrapped in it went under the hammer at Christie's auction house. It sold for $200,000, far above its pre-auction estimate of $30,000-50,000.
CNN
16-07-2025
- Science
- CNN
World's biggest Mars rock sold for $5.3 million at auction
A meteorite that is the largest known piece of Mars on Earth has sold for $5.3 million, with taxes and fees, to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's New York auction Wednesday. Known as NWA 16788, the meteorite weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), massive compared with most Martian meteorites, which tend to be small fragments, auction house Sotheby's said in a July 8 statement. Meteorites are what's left when a comet, asteroid or a meteoroid survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere. Discovered in November 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger, NWA 16788 is a 'monumental specimen' that is around 70% larger than the next biggest piece of Mars ever found on Earth, according to Sotheby's. It is also incredibly rare: only around 400 Martian meteorites have ever been found on Earth. 'NWA 16788 is a discovery of extraordinary significance — the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, and the most valuable of its kind ever offered at auction,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in the statement. 'Weathered by its journey through space and time, its immense size and unmistakable red color sets it apart as a once-in-a-generation find. This remarkable meteorite provides a tangible connection to the red planet — our celestial neighbor that has long captured the human imagination,' she added. Analysis of the meteorite's internal composition has revealed that it was probably removed from the Martian surface and blasted into space by an asteroid impact that was so powerful it turned parts of the meteorite into glass. A glassy crust can also be seen on its surface, formed as it hurtled through Earth's atmosphere, according to Sotheby's. For some, the fact that the meteorite was auctioned off rather than donated to science is cause for concern. 'It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch. It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied, and where it can be enjoyed by children and families and the public at large,' Steve Brusatte, a professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the sale. But for Julia Cartwright, a planetary scientist and Independent Research Fellow in the Institute for Space/School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leicester, England, there is a balance to be struck. 'Ultimately, if there was no market for searching, collecting and selling meteorites, we would not have anywhere near as many in our collections — and this drives the science!' she told CNN on July 9, describing a 'symbiotic relationship' between researchers and collectors. 'If samples weren't being found, we would not have anywhere near as much to study, and so wouldn't know as much as we do,' added Cartwright. While she believes it would be great if this 'really fabulous rock' were to be studied or displayed for the public to see, Cartwright underlined that a reference sample from the meteorite has been saved at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. While we don't know where the meteorite will end up, Cartwright believes that 'the scientific interest will remain, and the new owner may be very interested in learning from it, so we may still gather lots of science from this,' she said. In February 2021, a Martian meteorite with the planet's atmosphere entrapped in it went under the hammer at Christie's auction house. It sold for $200,000, far above its pre-auction estimate of $30,000-50,000.
