The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet<\/a>, Sotheby\u2019s says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters).<\/p>\n \u201cThis Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,\u201d Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby\u2019s, said in an interview. \u201cSo it\u2019s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites<\/a> out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby\u2019s says.<\/p>\n Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialized lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said.<\/p>\n The examination found that it is an \u201colivine-microgabbroic shergottite,\u201d a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby\u2019s says.<\/p>\n It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth\u2019s atmosphere, Hatton said. \u201cSo that was their first clue that this wasn\u2019t just some big rock on the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby\u2019s did not disclose the owner.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby\u2019s said.<\/p>\n The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it\u2019s ready to exhibit, Sotheby\u2019s says.<\/p>\n The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period<\/a>, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby\u2019s says. It\u2019s auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n