![]() Prior to that it had been drifting through space for 4.56 billion years, longer than the Earth’s existence. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the. with a window-rattling sonic boom, as a massive. Lot 40, expected to fetch between US$1,500 ad US$2,500 (at press time, the opening bid was just $100), is a piece of a meteorite that landed in southwestern Nigeria after slicing through the atmosphere at 20 km/s on the afternoon of April 19, 2018. Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Tucson is the epicenter of a meteorite hunt after a shower of space rocks landed north of the city Tuesday night. Many non-planetary meteorites are also for sale, some with provenances that combine the timescales almost beyond comprehension. For folks like Robert Ward, a professional meteorite hunter who last month found a piece of a meteor that was. It is two billion years old, and may have been blasted off the planet by an asteroid impact at what is now Karratha Crater, some 10 million years ago. Some space rock hunters aren't content to simply look for long-lost meteorites. There are also several Martian meteorites for sale, including NWA 7034, a shiny black 55 g cusp of rock notable for containing nearly 20 times more water than any other Martian sample. The catalogue points out that this is the largest sphere on Earth originating from a parent body that can be seen with the naked eye, and includes an image of Vesta – which, it helpfully notes, is “not part of the lot.” In addition to the lunar necklace, the sale includes a 15 cm sphere of material from the asteroid Vesta, weighing in at a bowling-ball-heavy 5.2 kg. Even with meteorite seekers risking their lives for finds – dangerous arctic and desert environments are prime hunting grounds – “the supply cannot keep up with the demand.” Martian meteorites are rarer still, with less than 350 kg known to exist. Pitt points out that the total world supply of lunar material, including that brought back from NASA on the Apollo missions, is less than 1,400 kg and could fit in the trunk of an SUV. What time is it on the moon? One small step for lunar timeīut meteorites remain vanishingly rare, and those from specific locations like the moon and Mars even more so.Midwest, Ontario registers 2.0 magnitude tremor Such scientific scrutiny also helps stem the proliferation of bogus space rocks, or what Pitt calls “meteor-wrongs.” The strewn field area has been picked over for years, which is why hunters also look for meteorites buried in the sandy washes. “Only then is it a Martian meteorite or a lunar meteorite,” he says. Article contentĪnd while a purchased meteorite might end up locked away in a private collection, Pitt notes that, to be verified, it must be sent to scientists for analysis and study – and they get to keep a bit of it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. ![]() Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt. ![]()
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