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Christies presents NWA 12691, a significant moon rock, among the largest known. Moon rock is among the rarest substances on Earth, with less than 650 kg of lunar meteorites known to exist.
This example is the fifth largest piece of the Moon on Earth, larger than any returned by the Apollo program. Valued in the region of £ 2 million, the specimen is available for immediate purchase through Christie’s Private Sales.
Lunar meteorites arrived on Earth after being ejected from the lunar surface due to a collision with an asteroid or comet. All the large craters on the Moon were created by such impacts. This particular meteorite was part of a large meteor shower that stretches across the borders of Western Sahara, Algeria, and Mauritania, responsible for almost half of all known lunar meteorites.
Approximately 30 different meteorites were collected, analyzed, classified, and assigned different NWA numbers in the belief that they could be from different events and represent different lunar samples; but they have all been determined to originate from the same lunar impact event as the current offering, NWA 12691, found in the Sahara desert two years ago.
James Hyslop, Head of Science and Natural History at Christie: “I’ve been fortunate enough to handle a few lunar meteorites at Christie’s over the years, but every time I see this specimen in the warehouse the size of it my jaw drops. weighing in at over 13.5kg, it’s much bigger than anything else that’s been offered before. The experience of having a piece of another world in your hands is something you will never forget. ”
Scientists identify moon rocks by their specific textural, mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic signatures. Many of the common minerals found on Earth are rare or absent on the Moon, while some lunar minerals are unknown on Earth. Furthermore, lunar rocks contain gases captured from the solar wind with very different isotope ratios of the same gases found on Earth.
Christie’s will also offer a group of 13 aesthetic iron meteorites for private sale. Formed by ground and extraterrestrial forces, this group of natural sculptures forms one of the most important collections of aesthetic iron meteorites in private hands. The collection, estimated to be in the region of £ 1.4 million, is available for immediate purchase through Christie’s Private Sales.
Unknown thousands of years ago, the exact date was lost in prehistory, an object weighing over 26,000 kg crashed into Earth. It was originally formed 4.5 billion years ago from the core of a planetary body located between Mars and Jupiter, the shattered remains of which are now part of the asteroid belt. An impact event ejected what would become Gibeon’s mass into interplanetary space before his descent to Earth, exploding into the atmosphere and raining down on what is now the Kalahari desert.
