Latest news with #auction
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Largest Martian meteorite fetches over €4.3 million at auction - but young dinosaur steals the show
'Geek Week' could have a myriad of meanings for a New York gathering of rare objects on sale this week but what's certain is that those attending Sotheby's would need to have deep pockets. A massive meteorite from Mars was trailed as the prized object and fetched more than $5 million (just over €4.3m) on Wednesday at the auction of very special geological and archaeological items Billed as the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth, the 25 kilogramme rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023. It was blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and travelled 225 million kilometers to Earth, according to Sotheby's. The estimated sale price before the auction was $2 million to $4 million. The final bid was $4.3 million. Adding various fees and costs, the official sale price was about $5.3 million, making it the most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction. The identity of the buyer was not immediately disclosed. Elsewhere during the auction, a rare young dinosaur skeleton sparked a war among six bidders over six minutes, eventually fetching more than $30 million (€25.8m). With a pre-auction estimate of $4 million to $6 million, it is one of only four known Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeletons and the only juvenile skeleton of the species, which resembles the Tyrannosaurus Rex... But smaller. The buyer, whose identity was also not immediately disclosed, plans to loan dino skeleton to an institution, according to Sotheby's. It was the third-highest amount paid for a dinosaur at auction. A Stegosaurus skeleton called 'Apex' holds the record after it was sold for $44.6 million (€38.4m) last year at Sotheby's.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
Mars meteorite sells for whopping $4.3m at auction
Are you ready for a price that's out of this world?A very rare piece of Mars rock has sold for a whopping $4.3 million (£3.2 million) at auction on meteorite was first discovered in 2023, in the country of Niger in known as NWA 16788 – not the most memorable name for a rock worth that much money!Sotheby's - the auction house which sold the meteorite - says it weighs 54lb (24.5kg) and is nearly 15in (38.1cm) long. What is a meteorite? A meteorite is a piece of rock that has come from outside of has survived falling through space and Earth's atmosphere to arrive on our come from meteoroids - rocks that exist in can read more about the differences between meteors, meteorites and asteroids here. We do not know who purchased this small chunk of the Red Planet, and the details of the owner are expected to remain date, there have only been around 400 Martian meteorites found on Earth that we know of."This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth. The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small," said Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby's."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 middle of the ocean where we could actually find it."
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Science
- Forbes
Mars Meteorite Breaks Auction Record With $5.3 Million Sale
A 54-pound meteorite from Mars, believed to be the largest piece of the planet currently on Earth, sold in a Sotheby's auction for $5.3 million after a 15-minute bidding war to quickly become the most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction. The Planet Mars. NASA via Getty Images Called NWA 16788, the specimen was found in November of 2023 in Niger's remote Agadez region, part of the Sahara Desert. The 'once-in-a-generation find' has a red hue and a glassy fusion crust that Sotheby's said suggests it was blasted from the surface of Mars by an asteroid impact so powerful it turned some of the meteorite's minerals into glass. There are roughly 77,000 officially recognized meteorites on Earth and, of those, only 400 are Martian, according to Sotheby's. The hunk of rock was expected to fetch between $2 million and $4 million when it sold. NWA 16788, a Martian meteorite, is going up for auction July 16, 2025. Sotheby's Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here : 6.59%. That's the percentage of Martian material on Earth that this meteorite accounts for. The 400 recognized Martian meteorites have a combined total weight of roughly 825 pounds, meaning NWA 16788 makes up almost 7% of all Martian material ever found on our planet. Surprising Fact Only about 15 meteorites are discovered in North America per year, according to Sotheby's. Tangent Before the NWA 16788 went up for sale, the Fukang meteorite held the title for the most expensive ever offered at auction. The specimen was found in 2000 in China and is classified as a pallasite—a type of stony–iron meteorite with olivine crystals. It's thought to be over 4.5 million years old, possibly older than Earth, and weighs more than 2,200 pounds. In 2008, a 925-pound slice of the Fukang meteorite was valued at around $2 million and put up for auction by Bonhams in New York. It didn't sell. Further Reading Forbes White House Could Jeopardize Mars Missions By Slashing NASA's Funding By Kevin Holden Platt Forbes Updated Mars Vision From Elon Musk, SpaceX Hits Different Now, Matters More By Eric Mack Forbes We Finally Know Why Mars Is Red, Scientists Say By Jamie Carter Forbes Mars' Small Mass Still Puzzles Planetary Scientists By Bruce Dorminey
France 24
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Rare Gandhi portrait smashes estimate to sell for nearly £153,000
The 1931 painting by British-American artist Clare Leighton fetched more than twice the estimated price when the auction closed on Tuesday in London, Bonhams auction house has revealed. "Thought to be the only oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi which he sat for, this was a very special work, which had never before been offered at auction," said Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams' head of sale. She added the painting "was a testament to Gandhi's power to connect with people far and wide, and presented a lasting document of an important moment in history". Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in India's history, led a non-violent movement against British rule and inspired similar resistance campaigns across the world. He is the subject of tens of thousands of artworks, books and films. The portrait was created in London -- at a crucial time for India's independence struggle -- and remained in Leighton's collection until her death in 1989. It was then passed down through her family, according to Bonhams. No details were provided about the buyer.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rosebud sled from Citizen Kane sells at auction for £11m
The iconic sled from Orson Welles's 1941 classic Citizen Kane has sold for $14.75m (£11m) at auction. The item therefore becomes the second most valuable piece of movie memorabilia ever sold, following last December's sale of a pair of ruby slippers from 1939's The Wizard of Oz for $32.5m (£24.2m). The buyer is unknown, but the seller was the director Joe Dante, who was given the item in 1984 while working on Explorers on the Paramount lot, previously home to RKO Pictures. 'One of the crew who knew I was a fan of vintage films came to me with a wood prop and said, 'They're throwing out all of this stuff. You might want this,'' said Dante. 'I'm not sure he knew what the sled was, but he must have had some inkling, or why else would he have asked me? 'I was astonished. Since I am a huge fan of the movie, I said, 'Yeah, I'll be glad to take it.'' The prop is primarily pine hardwood, with the original paint but signs of both wear and tear on the lot and with a few missing rails, likely donated to the wartime drive for scrap metal. 'I've had the honour of protecting this piece of cinematic history for decades,' Dante said in a statement released by action house Heritage. 'To see Rosebud find a new home – and make history in the process – is both surreal and deeply gratifying. It's a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.' Dante featured the sled in Explorers, as well as 1989's The Burbs, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and an episode of the early 90s series Eerie, Indiana. The exact number of sleds produced for the film is unknown – the auction house says a 'few' were made; one sold to Steven Spielberg in 1982 for $60,500 (£45,150) in 1982 and another to an anonymous buyer for $233,000 (£174,000) in 1996. Other sales in the auction include a filming miniature X-wing from The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones' bullwhip originally given to HRH Prince Charles by Harrison Ford at the royal premiere of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Austin Powers's green velvet suit. A nude photo of Marilyn Monroe is also available, armour from Ben-Hur and a Ralph Lauren blazer owned by Audrey Hepburn. 'This is one of the most important events in entertainment auction history,' said Heritage Auctions executive vice president Joe Maddalena. 'These aren't just props. They're mythic objects. They tell the story of Hollywood's greatest moments, one piece at a time, each tied to a memory, a performance, a legend.'
