‘Incredibly rare' Mars rock sells for £3.2m
The 54lb (24.5kg) meteorite is the largest piece of Mars on Earth. It was ejected from the Martian surface by a massive asteroid strike and then journeyed 140 million miles through space before hurtling through Earth's atmosphere and crashing in Niger.
A meteorite hunter then found the 15-inch rock, which is called NWA 16788, in Niger's Agadez region in November 2023.
Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby 's, which sold the meteorite, said: 'This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth.
'The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small,' she said in a video posted online.
'Remember that approximately 70 per cent 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.'
Only about 400 Martian meteorites have ever been found on Earth, and NWA 16788 accounts for about seven per cent of all Martian material currently known here.
Sotheby's described the find as an 'incredibly rare discovery'.
NWA 16788 is 'covered in a reddish-brown fusion crust giving it an unmistakable Martian hue,' according to the auction catalogue.
Around a fifth of the meteorite is made up of a glassy material called Maskelynite, created by the intense heat and pressure produced when Mars was hit by an asteroid.
'Given the severity of impact necessary to eject any material off the Martian surface and into space, researchers believe there are only approximately 19 craters large enough to be the potential origination points for Martian meteorites,' said Sotheby's.
A study of the surface has found little 'terrestrial weathering', suggesting the meteorite may not have been on Earth long.
'In other words, NWA 16788 is likely a relative newcomer here on Earth, having fallen from outer space rather recently,' Sotheby's said.
Details of the buyer have not been made public and it is not clear where the meteorite will now reside.
The rock was sold as part of Sotheby's 'Geek Week' auction, where fossils, mineral deposits, meteorites and other science and natural history exhibits went under the hammer.
A Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic period sold for £19 ($26m) and the skull of a Pachycephalosaurus sold for £1m ($1.4m).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
I was hired by NASA to protect Earth from aliens – here's what happens when they find us… & why it may spark disaster
AN EX-NASA chief has sensationally revealed plans for intelligent alien visitors. John Rummel was twice NASA's Planetary Protection Officer - from 1987 to 1993 and 1997 to 2006. 5 5 5 His objective was to prevent the contamination of other planets during exploratory missions, and also to ensure alien samples didn't contaminate Earth. But he also contemplated what he would do if intelligent aliens were to visit. And Rummel, now retired, has even outlined what could happen if there was a full-scale alien invasion. Rummel told The Sun: 'An alien visitor would provide mutual benefit. 'We could imagine standard microbial sampling, such as swabs and wipes for our part. 'Conceptually, it could be like the Danish film, The Visit, where we have somebody who is coming here but not invading, and they're interested in finding out more. 'I would insist we sample the visitor to make sure we have no microbial hitchhikers and also that we do not introduce anything to hurt the visitor. 'As for alien invasions, you could end up with the Martians being killed off by the first pathogenic bacteria, and the other way around. 'If we go to Mars, we become the Martians. We have to be careful that when we do get there we don't bring back unknowns that might otherwise be a problem. 'A lot of people go, oh well, we haven't found life on Mars so far, so it shouldn't be a problem. 'There are a lot of people with big enough egos to say 'trust me'. 'But that's not really a good idea. Ignorance is not bliss. Let's go ahead and take some data.' He added: 'We are just getting started in looking for signs of life. I will vote for aliens finding us first. 'We are otherwise in the 'selfie' stage of understanding what to look for, and where.' Rummel said there were no official NASA plans to prepare for an invasion, insisting his views are personal. But in that scenario, he says the agency would be unlikely to have any jurisdiction for a response. Rummel spoke after his successor, Catharine Conley, exclusively told The Sun she had been fired by NASA in 2013 for claiming its plan to return Mars samples to Earth was not safe, something Rummel agrees with. Conley said her job, like Rummel's, was to protect Earth from rogue alien life entering the atmosphere. But she believes that if there was an alien invasion, the response would be led by the US Air Force. 5 Mars facts Here's what you need to know about the red planet... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun It is named after the Roman god of war The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth, but due to the difference in gravity, you could jump three times higher there than you can here. Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest Mars is considered the second most habitable planet after Earth. It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun The planet has a diameter of 4,212 miles, and has an average distance from Earth of 140 million miles Martian temperatures can vary wildly, reaching as high as 70F/20C or as low as -225F/-153C She told The Sun: 'They would very much more likely be tiny little aliens. 'But if there were any intelligent ones, that would be the Air Force's problem, not NASA's, at least for the US. 'But again, we don't know what we're preparing for.' Rummel continued to work for NASA as a senior scientist at the Astrobiology Program after leaving his PPO role before retiring. He added: 'If somebody were to come in and land on the Earth, it's unlikely that they're going to cause a problem in my opinion. 'But I wouldn't trust my opinion on this because I don't have data. 'I believe that there's life out there but it wouldn't consider itself alien. Because they're out there and we're the aliens if we go out there. 'They're not the aliens themselves. I hope intelligent alien life is out there, and I certainly think it could be. We have a chance of seeing them in our lifetime. 'It changes all the time, but the search for extra terrestrial intelligence or technology has the potential to reveal if there's something else going on in the galaxy that's not us. 'At one point in time, I was the SETI program person at NASA headquarters. "And some very smart people are dedicated to seeing what's out there.' 5 NASA says on its website it hopes to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s to explore signs of alien life. It was planning to return Mars samples before then as part of its Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. But that has been scrapped by Donald Trump's cuts, and NASA instead says it anticipates returning samples through lower-cost options. China remains on course with its own plans to return Mars samples through its Tianwen-3 Mars mission, set for launch in 2028 and bringing samples back by 2031. Rummel says he agrees with Catharine that NASA's current plans to bring samples back to Earth are not safe. But he says he'll be keeping an eager eye on the Chinese. He said: 'Mars sample return by robotic space vehicles is not currently funded by the US, so Catharine is right. 'It will be interesting to see the details of whatever the Chinese do.' He added: 'The bottom line is that we're looking for life on Mars and if we think there's a credible possibility of finding life on Mars, then it would be nice to know something about whether or not that life form was benign or whether or not it somehow might affect us.' 'You don't want it to go badly.' The Sun has approached NASA for a response to Rummel's comments. On questions surrounding the safety of samples returned to Mars, NASA previously said: "It is anticipated that future missions to Mars will return samples for study on Earth. "NASA will never compromise on safety." How long does it take to get to Mars? It's not that short of a trip... There's an immense distance between Earth and Mars, which means any trip to the red planet will take a very long time It's also made more complicated by the fact that the distance is constantly changing as the two planets rotate around the sun The closest that the Earth and Mars would ever be is a distance of 33.9million miles – that's 9,800 times the distance between London and New York That's really rare though: the more useful distance is the average, which is 140million miles Scientists on Earth have already launched a whole bunch of spacecraft to (or near) Mars, so we have a rough idea of how long it takes with current technology Historically, the trip has taken anywhere from 128 to 333 days – admittedly a huge length of time for humans to be on board a cramped spacecraft.
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Night Sky: There's still time to spot some noctilucent cloud activity
Nick managed to photograph the event as the Sun's rays reached out from far below the horizon, lighting up tiny frozen water droplets high up in the Earth's atmosphere. The result is this stunning image incorporating long wispy white clouds tinged with blue. Taken from the Latin for 'night-shining', the clouds can be seen a couple of hours after sunset looking to the northwest. One of the richest and most bountiful of the annual meteor displays is underway as the Perseids fire themselves up for another outburst in August. While the shower will be covered in more detail as we head toward the night when maximum activity is expected, meteors from the display have already commenced as the Earth ploughs through a field of rocky debris left by a comet. The densest part of the field will be encountered on the night of August 12 into August 13, when we could witness up to 150 meteors per hour. This is a perfect opportunity to see some celestial fireworks, all of which can be observed with the naked eye. While the position of Mars in the evening sky hasn't made for the best of viewing, there's a chance to spot both the red planet and a crescent Moon on Monday July 28, low above the western horizon at around 10pm. This will be one of the last opportunities to see Mars this year as during August it will slip into the twilight and won't be seen again until 2026. Meanwhile, the morning sky continues to be dominated by Venus. Space news, and the Hubble Space Telescope has caught the first glimpse of 3I/Atlas, just the third object humanity has witnessed entering our solar system from beyond its limits. The 12-mile-wide 'invader', larger than the asteroid that eventually led to the downfall of the dinosaurs, is due to pass Mars in October and Earth in December, both fly-bys posing no threat. Thought to have been formed seven billion years ago, 3I/Atlas is currently speeding through our solar system at 150,000 mph. Tuesday July 22 saw the Earth complete a spin on its axis at 1.34 milliseconds less than the standard 24 hours, making for the second fastest rotation since records began in 1973. For a significant part of Earth's history a day on Earth was approximately 19 hours long, but over time, the day has become constantly longer due to affects such as the relationship with the Moon and the associated tidal forces. However, just to buck the trend! Founded in 1975, Cardiff Astronomical Society currently has an exhibition running at Cardiff Museum. One of the largest and most active astronomical societies in the UK, the event, which showcases the work of the society throughout the decades and its established links to the community, is free to enter, running until October 31. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Scientists make revelation about origins of life on Earth
Scientists suggest that life on Earth may have originated from outer space, implying its potential widespread presence across the universe. Researchers have discovered complex organic molecules, considered precursors to life's building blocks, within a disc surrounding a protostar. This finding addresses a crucial missing link, demonstrating that these complex molecules can survive the violent process of a protostar evolving into a young star. The survival of these molecules means they can be inherited by planet-forming discs, suggesting that life could be more abundant than previously thought. The significant findings have been reported in a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
