* Astronomy

Lot 49080

In 2005, nomads from the Sahara desert stumbled upon a profusion of small meteorites. Some were cut for analysis, and it was discovered they were geochemically and isotopically identical. It soon became clear to scientists that the meteorites shared a common origin, and it was the planet Mars. In an event that occurred hundreds of years ago, a meteoroid broke up in the thermosphere, and a Martian meteorite shower pelted the Sahara.
Several years ago it was unthinkable that there could be individual Martian meteorites available to collectors - and now these specimens, part of what is only a cereal bowl's worth of such specimens, are among the rarest objects on Earth. The specimen featured here displays the glossy "burnt-sugar" fusion crust of the most coveted Martian meteorites; as a result of desert exposure, a smooth natural varnish provides surface sheen.
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