Largest piece of Mars on Earth sells for over $5m at New York auction
by Associated Press from Science | The Guardian on (#6YPW2)
Meteorite weighing 54lb found in Sahara in 2023 beats estimate as dinosaur skeleton sells for more than $30m
The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5m at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday, while a juvenile dinosaur skeleton went for more than $30m.
The 54-pound (25kg) rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after having been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveling 140m miles (225m km) to Earth, according to Sotheby's. The estimated sale price before the auction was $2m to $4m.
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