Unveiling the Most Expensive Rock: A 54-Pound Martian Meteorite Up for Auction!
A Rare Martian Treasure Hits the Auction Block
New York: Up for grabs is a remarkable 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock, with an estimated auction value ranging from $2 million to $4 million. What makes this rock so valuable? It is the largest known piece of Mars ever discovered on Earth. Sotheby’s in New York is set to auction this extraordinary specimen, known as NWA 16788, during a natural history-themed sale that also features a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton measuring over 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long. According to the auction house, this meteorite was propelled off Mars by a colossal asteroid impact before traveling 140 million miles to Earth, where it ultimately landed in the Sahara Desert. A meteorite hunter discovered it in Niger in November 2023, as reported by Sotheby’s.
This striking rock, characterized by its red, brown, and gray hues, is approximately 70% larger than the next biggest Martian meteorite found on our planet and constitutes nearly 7% of all Martian material currently on Earth, according to Sotheby’s. Its dimensions are nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches. Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for Science and Natural History at Sotheby’s, remarked in an interview, “This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot. It’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”
The rarity of this find is significant, with only 400 Martian meteorites identified among over 77,000 officially recognized meteorites on Earth, as stated by Sotheby’s. Hatton explained that a small sample of this Martian remnant was sent to a specialized laboratory for analysis, confirming its Martian origin. The sample was compared to the unique chemical makeup of Martian meteorites collected during the Viking space probe mission that landed on Mars in 1976. The analysis revealed that it is classified as an ‘olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,’ a type of Martian rock formed from the gradual cooling of Martian magma.
This meteorite features a coarse-grained texture and contains minerals such as pyroxene and olivine, according to Sotheby’s. It also exhibits a glassy surface, likely resulting from the intense heat it experienced while entering Earth’s atmosphere, Hatton noted. “That was their first clue that this wasn’t just some big rock on the ground,” she added. Previously, this meteorite was displayed at the Italian Space Agency in Rome, but Sotheby’s has not revealed the identity of its current owner.