A Martian rock and dinosaur skeleton just made auction history — Details inside
But that wasn't the only big moment of the night. A rare dinosaur skeleton was also auctioned and grabbed even more attention, selling for a whopping $30 million.
A Martian treasure lands on Earth
As per media reports, the meteorite, called NWA 16788, was found in the Sahara Desert in Niger in late 2023 by a meteorite hunter. It is believed that it was thrown off Mars by a huge asteroid hit and travelled more than 140 million miles through space before landing on Earth, as mentioned in an Indian Express report.
It was expected to sell for $2 to $4 million, but it went for more. The winning bid was $4.3 million, and after adding auction fees, the final price was $5.3 million.
As quoted by the Indian Express, Cassandra Hatton, Vice Chairman for Science and Natural History at Sotheby's, highlighted the rarity of the find, noting, 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot.' She added that it is more than double the size of the previous largest fragment.
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The unique composition of the meteorite
What makes this Martian rock even more special isn't just how big it is– it makes up nearly 7% of all Mars rocks ever found on Earth. As mentioned in the media report, Sotheby's said it's much bigger than any other known Martian piece and is a type of rock called 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' which means it was formed from lava that cooled down on Mars. Its surface looks smooth and glassy, showing it got extremely hot while entering Earth's atmosphere.
Experts confirmed the rock came from Mars by checking its chemical makeup and comparing it with data from NASA's Viking mission, which landed on Mars in 1976.
The dinosaur skeleton that sparked a bidding frenzy
While the meteorite got a lot of attention, it was a rare Ceratosaurus skeleton that really stood out, selling for an incredible $30.5 million. As mentioned in the Indian Express report is believed that it's the only young Ceratosaurus ever found, and just one of four skeletons of this dinosaur known to exist.
It looks a bit like the famous T Rex but is smaller in size.
According to the media reports, the bidding began at $6 million– already higher than what was expected– and quickly picked up speed. The price kept rising in jumps of $500,000 and later $1 million until it finally sold for $30.5 million, including auction fees.
Sotheby's later confirmed that the buyer, who chose to remain anonymous, plans to loan the skeleton to a public institution.
Thumb image: Canva (For representational purposes only)
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