Fortune | FORTUNE 19小时前
You can buy a 54-pound Martian rock for upwards of $2 million in an auction also featuring a juvenile dinosaur that’s 11 feet long
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苏富比拍卖行将在纽约拍卖一块重达54磅的火星陨石NWA 16788,预计售价200万至400万美元。这块陨石是地球上发现的最大火星岩石,约占地球上所有火星物质的7%。它是在2023年11月由陨石猎人在尼日尔发现的,据信是由小行星撞击从火星表面喷射出来,经过2.25亿公里的旅程后坠落到地球。拍卖会还将包括一个侏罗纪时期的角鼻龙幼龙骨架,预计售价400万至600万美元。

☄️ NWA 16788是地球上发现的最大火星陨石,重达54磅(25公斤),尺寸约为375毫米 x 279毫米 x 152毫米。

🌍 这块陨石大约是地球上发现的第二大火星陨石的两倍,代表了地球上近7%的火星物质。

🚀 陨石被认为是由小行星撞击从火星表面喷射出来,经过1.4亿英里(2.25亿公里)的旅程,坠落到地球的撒哈拉沙漠。

🔬 经过专门实验室的分析,确认该陨石是“橄榄石-微辉长岩质的”,一种由火星岩浆缓慢冷却形成的岩石,并含有辉石和橄榄石矿物。

🦖 拍卖会上还将拍卖一个侏罗纪晚期的角鼻龙幼龙骨架,估计有1.5亿年历史,预计售价400万至600万美元。

For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It’s the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.

Sotheby’s in New York will be auctioning what’s known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that’s more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long.

According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says.

The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby’s says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters).

“This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said in an interview. “So it’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”

It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby’s says.

Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialized lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said.

The examination found that it is an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby’s says.

It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth’s atmosphere, Hatton said. “So that was their first clue that this wasn’t just some big rock on the ground,” she said.

The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby’s did not disclose the owner.

It’s not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby’s said.

The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it’s ready to exhibit, Sotheby’s says.

The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby’s says. It’s auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million.

Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long.

The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company.

Wednesday’s auction is part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.

____

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

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火星陨石 拍卖 苏富比 陨石
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