Ana Fagaj
BBC News
An "incredibly rare" piece of Mars, the largest ever found on Earth, has sold for €3,9 million at an auction in New York.
A meteorite known as NWA 16788 weighs 24,5 kilograms and is almost 38,1 centimeters long, according to Sotheby's.
It was discovered in a remote region of Niger in November 2023 and is 70 percent larger than the largest piece of Mars previously found, the auction house said.
Meteorites are the remains of rocks that remain after an asteroid or comet passes through Earth's atmosphere.
Sotheby's auction house described the meteorite, a reddish-brown rock, as "incredibly rare."
Only about 400 Martian meteorites have been found on Earth.
"This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth."
"The odds that this came from there are astronomical," said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice president of science and natural history, in a video posted online.
Approximately 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water.
"We're incredibly lucky that this landed on land, instead of in the middle of the ocean, because we would have had a hard time finding it," she added.
It is not yet clear where the meteorite will end up, as the buyer's information is protected.
Additional taxes and fees raised the total price of the rock to around 4,6 million euros, Sotheby's said.
At an auction of more than 100 items, a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic period sold for 22 million euros, while a skull Pachycephalosaurusa for 1,2 million euros.
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