Lunar and rare meteorites head to auction

By Siddhi Jain 

New Delhi, Aug 17  Dozens of striking extraterrestrial specimens, including meteorites and samples from the moon, are set to feature in a sale by a leading auction house.

Christie’s annual ‘Deep Impact: Lunar and Rare Meteorites’ sale is open for bidding online till August 25. Estimates range from $500-500,000 (roughly Rs 37,000 to Rs 3.7 crore).

It features a sample of the Moon in the shape of Moon, with an estimate in crore, among the rarest objects on Earth; specimens of the Moon are identified by specific geological, mineralogical, chemical and radiation signatures. This sphere was fashioned from a lunar meteorite – a piece of the Moon ejected into space following an impact on the lunar surface, said Christie’s.

While not one milligram of the 400 kilograms of Apollo material is available for private ownership, some of the material returned to Earth by Apollo astronauts is remarkably similar to select lunar meteorites, including this offering.

With a 4-inch diameter, this captivating presentation of the Moon is, besides the Moon itself, the largest lunar sphere known, according to the auction house. The sale also has a smaller lunar sphere and a piece of lunar jewellery with extraterrestrial gemstones.

Originating from the molten core of an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, the Lake Murray meteorite has been on Earth longer than any other meteorite and its crystalline pattern is among the most captivating. The sale has a complete slab of this historic meteorite.

Protected by a 6-inch sheath of iron shale, the Lake Murray mass was found in a layer of Antler Sandstone of the Lower Cretaceous period (110 million years). Lake Murray landed on Earth more than a hundred million years before the earliest humans walked the Earth.