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Sale 71
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Lot 665
Martian Mini-Meteorite Complete and Uncut. Meteorites from the planet Mars are so rare that only small fragments are available for sale. These rare meteorites have been identified as being from Mars because of their chemical analysis and age. They are younger than most of the meteorites from the asteroid belt that were formed at the same time as the solar system 4.5 Billion Years Ago. It is now believed that most if not all the Martian meteorites originated from one gigantic meteorite impact that left the more recent Zumba crater in the Daedalia Planum on Mars. In 2007, in the Sahara desert of Algeria a number of small individual meteorites with a total weight of only 117.5 grams were found and submitted for analysis. This Martian meteorite(named NWA 4930) was found to be a rare achondrite basaltic (volcanic) Martian Shergotite with vesicular gas pockets and trapped melt inclusions and represents one of the freshest Martian Shergotites found. This specimen is a small .302 gram but complete mini-meteorite the size of a pebble that has a somewhat glossy green color with details of a number of individual grains visible with a magnifying glass. The reason that only small individual meteorites were found is because the original larger meteorite broke up high in the Earth's atmosphere. Mars is currently in the news with the one billion dollar Opportunity lander currently exploring Mars. But even spending one billion dollars, the Opportunity lander will not bring back to Earth any Mars rocks such as this specimen. This rare Martian meteorite comes housed in a 8X6 inch Riker mount for protection.
Allow $15 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $300 - 450.
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| Realized $240 |
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