An extraterrestrial discovery, both literally and figuratively. An exceptional piece of our neighboring red planet was recently auctioned in New York: the largest Martian fragment ever found on Earth. And, of course, it came with an extraterrestrial price tag.
NWA 16788. Sounds like the name of a spaceship, but it's actually the most impressive piece of Martian debris ever to reach our planet. Weighing nearly 25 kilograms (16 pounds) and sporting a distinctive Martian-red hue, this fragment is not only the largest, but also the most expensive Martian meteorite ever auctioned. On July 5.3, it sold at Sotheby's in New York for a whopping $XNUMX million.
NWA 16788 was discovered in 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger by a meteorite hunter with a keen eye and, presumably, a fair amount of luck. The impact on Mars that propelled this fragment into space was powerful enough to turn parts of the rock into glass. Some of these glassy structures are still visible on the meteorite itself, as is the black fusion crust that formed as the object hurtled through our atmosphere at immense speed.
Once in a generation
"A once-in-a-generation find," says Cassandra Hatton of Sotheby's. "This meteorite offers a tangible link to the Red Planet—our fascinating, mysterious neighbor." NWA 16788 is over 70% larger than the second-largest Martian fragment found on Earth and has already been exhibited in several places, including at the Italian Space Agency and a gallery in Tuscany.