An “incredibly rare” piece of largest piece of Mars, the largest ever found on Earth, recently commanded an astonishing $ 4.3 million at a New York auction, but with additional taxes and fees, the total price for the extraterrestrial rock rose to approx. $ 5.3 million.
Baptized NWA 16788, this notable meteorite weighs a colossal 54 lb (24.5 kg) and measures nearly 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) long, the BBC reported.
According to Sotheby’s, the Auction House, which relieved the sale, it was discovered in a remote region of Niger in November 2023.
In addition, Sotheby confirmed that the piece of Mars was 70% larger than the next largest piece of the red planet ever recovered, making it a monumental finding for collectors and scientists.
“This is the biggest piece of Mars on Planet Earth. Oddsen for this to come from there is astronomically small,” said Cassandra Hatton, Vice President of Science and Natural History of Sotheby’s, in a video sent online.
“Remember that about 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. So we are incredibly lucky that this landed on dry land instead of the middle of the sea where we could actually find it.”
Meteorites are the remains of stones left after an asteroid or comet passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. However, Martical Meteorites are unusually scarce; Only about 400 are ever found on Earth.
This reddish -brown rock, described by Sotheby’s as “incredibly rare”, represents a unique opportunity to study material directly from the red planet.
In addition, the buyer of this rare rock and information about its sales remains privately, as is the usual for such a high profile sale.
The recent auction contained more than 100 goods, with NWA 16788 being a highlight among other significant natural history objects. The event also saw a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jura period selling for $ 26 million, and the skull on a Pachycephalosaurus fetches $ 1.4 million.
