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An “unbelievably rare” piece 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 soared to approximately $5.3 million.<\/p>\n
Dubbed NWA 16788, this remarkable meteorite weighs a colossal\u00a054lb (24.5 kilogrammes) and measures nearly 15 inches\u00a0(38.1 centimetres) long, the BBC<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n
According to Sotheby’s, the auction house that facilitated the sale, it was discovered in a remote region of Niger in November 2023.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Sotheby’s confirmed that the piece of Mars was 70% larger than the next biggest piece of the Red Planet ever recovered, making it a monumental find for collectors and scientists.<\/p>\n
“This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth. The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small,” Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said in a video posted online.<\/p>\n
“Remember that approximately 70% 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.”<\/p>\n
Meteorites are the remnants of rock left after an asteroid or comet passes through Earth’s atmosphere. Martian meteorites, however, are exceptionally scarce; only about 400 have ever been found on Earth.<\/p>\n
This reddish-brown rock, described by Sotheby’s as “unbelievably rare”, represents a unique opportunity to study material directly from the Red Planet.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the buyer of this rare rock and information about its sale remain private, as is customary for such high-profile sales.<\/p>\n
The recent auction featured more than 100 items, with NWA 16788 being a highlight among other significant natural history artefacts. The event also saw a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic period sell for $26 million, and the skull of a Pachycephalosaurus fetch $1.4 million.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n