No one knows how it ended with Sotheby’s, but the fact was auctioned for $5.3 million | Credit: Sotheby’s
The “incredibly rare” Mars, sold at New York auction on Wednesday, July 16th, with a bid of $5.3 million (approximately 4.5 million euros and 3.9 million pounds), sold at the largest Mars on Earth. Now, Niger and the experts are asking whether the sale is legal and how it was smuggled from the state.
The met stone, known as NWA 16788, weighs 54lb (24.5kg) and is approximately 15 inches (38.1cm) long. According to To Sotheby’s. It was discovered in a remote area of Niger in November 2023 and is 70% larger than the next largest Mars that has recovered, the auction house said. Metstones are rock ruins after an asteroid or comet passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.
“NWA 16788 is covered with a reddish brown fusion crust, giving it an unmistakable Mars tint,” explains Satheby on its website.
That was a “brave act.”
The BBC explained that the sale of met stones is recently comparable to the arts market, with aesthetics and rarity affecting prices.
Paleontologist Professor Paul Sereno told the BBC that he believes that liquid sales are “brave” and should return to Niger’s landlocked West African country.
On July 20, the Nigerian government made a widespread announcement statement x criticizes the auction.
“The Nigerian government has launched a formal investigation into sales, which is described as “comparable to illegal international trafficking.”
Satheby strongly objected this, saying he followed the correct procedure.
The Secret of Mars
The statement also said scientists criticized the sale to individuals on behalf of public institutions. Because “This big rock may have revealed the secret of Mars.
Paleontologist Steve Brusatte (University of Edinburgh) said there was a risk that the metstone would “end in a private safe,” and that science had taken away valuable samples.
According to an Italian article, NWA 16788 was “sold by the local community to an international dealer,” and was later transferred to a private gallery in the city of Arezzo, Italy.
Many questions are not answered
The University of Florence magazine described the person as “the owner of an important Italian gallery.”
A team of scientists led by Giovanni Pratesi, a university professor of mineralogy, was able to look into it to learn more about its structure and where it came from. The meteorite was then briefly displayed last year in Italy, including the Italian Space Agency in Rome.
It was then seen publicly in New York last month. I pulled two slices and stayed in Italy for more research. The way they reached NYC remains as mysterious as its current owners.
