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A 12-pound lunar meteorite found in northwestern Africa in 2017 rests on a table in Amherst, N.H.
(Associated Press)
A 12-pound moon meteorite was sold at an auction in Boston at a bargain price of $ 612,500 on Friday.
"As soon as we saw this, we knew it was extraordinarily unusual," said Geoff Notkin, star of "Meteorite Men," television. "It's almost a unique discovery in a lifetime."
Most lunar meteorites found are about the size of a nut or golf ball, said Notkin, managing director of Aerolite Meteorites, which sold the rock.
The Boston-based Boston-based RR announced Friday the winning bid to a representative of the Tam Chuc pagoda complex in Ha Nam province, Vietnam.
RR said it was one of the biggest pieces of the moon ever on sale at the online auction that ran from October 11 to 18.
The lunar rock was discovered last year in a remote region of Mauritania, in northwestern Africa, but probably plunged into Earth thousands of years ago.
The lunar meteorite is unofficially called "The Moon Puzzle", reported Geek Wire, as it consists of six fragments that fit together like a puzzle. The largest of these pieces weighs about 6 pounds.
"… This" moon puzzle "will certainly inspire science students of future generations," said Robert Livingston, executive vice president of RR, according to the publication.
It is also one of the few known lunar meteorites with what the experts call a "partial melting crust", caused by the enormous heat that warms the rock when it goes down in the water. atmosphere.
"It's actually grilled on the outside," Notkin said.
Livingston said the lunar rocks reported by astronauts are owned by the US government. The auction is the only way to get a private collector on a piece of the moon.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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