Posted on 04/07/2016 7:01:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
There’s an almost constant shower of debris from space that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, streaking across the night skies as meteors. Only a select few of the hardiest space rocks make it through to the ground. And those surviving bits of iron and rock are dubbed meteorites.
Scientists and the public alike itch to get their hands on these rare and often unusual pieces of debris from space, making many of them worth a lot of money. On April 20th, everyone will get a chance to own a piece of space when 83 lots of meteorites and related collectibles comes up for sale at Christie's auction house in London.
Micrometeorites are common, and the particles, which usually range in size from a grain of sand to a grain of rice, constantly bombard earth. They even show up in our rain gutters. But big meteorites are very rare, with only about 38,000 collected by humans so far. So the impressive collection at Christie's is expected to net big bucks—likely over 3.8 million dollars.
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
Some interesting photos at link.
Even our meteors are being imported. Can’t we make anything here any more?
j/k
Pricey rocks for The Man Who Has Everything.
Personally, I like “The Scream” - which would be kinda fun to feature in the vestibule of my mansion in the Hamptons.
nice....
I once visited Greensburg, KS ans saw the 1000 lb. palasite meteorite. Also the big well.
~ Car seat and muffler hit by the Benld meteorite in 1938, with the meteorite inset. An observed fall.
Fools. You can get a Stern Meteor for < $1k in good to great condition!
I already own a piece of a meteorite that fell in Central Africa in the 19th century. I keep a slice of it on a chain around my neck. It has these bizarre striations visible in the metal, and I’m told it’s from crystals of nickel in the iron, and that the only conditions under which those striations form is in an absolute vacuum at near 0 Kelvin. In others words, outer space. The meteorite is supposedly dated to be nearly 4+ billion years old, making it older than the Earth itself.
Either that or it’s a piece of cold-rolled high-carbon steel and the guy who sold it to me is a top-notch snake-oil salesman.
Really officer ...... a BFR hit my car !!
I’m a patriot. I only buy stuff made on Earth.
Back in the 50s we lived in Panama City. One day a small clear spot appeared on the windshield of our car. After a few days it had spread enough to destroy the glass.
When it was replaced, Daddy noticed the insurance form said it was due to nuclear fallout.
I have no idea if it really was but I can’t see much else that could have caused it.
Well that just happens sometimes......:o)
And there’s probably an exclusion clause for nuclear fallout.
big meteorites are very rare, with only about 38,000 collected by humans so far.
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Ooh, nice find! At first I thought it was going to be from Michelle Knapp’s car in 1992.
Interesting story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peekskill_meteorite
“Hello, insurance company? I’d like to report damage to my car.”
“Oh, we’re sorry, you bought the discount policy. You’re only covered for meteorite strikes (snicker).”
“Well, today is my lucky day.”
Trust me. You don't want no meaty-yers. Jus' stay away from 'em.
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