Piece of moon that fell on earth has been put for sale at $2.49 million

Team Udayavani, May 2, 2020, 3:34 PM IST

A piece of the moon that fell on earth is for sale at the famed Christie’s auction house. It is one of largest lunar meteorites in existence and has been put up for at $2.49 million.

The lunar meteorite, known as NWA 12691, fell to Earth in a meteor shower and was found two years ago in the Sahara Desert

Sources claim that the moon rock weighs 13.5 kg and was said to be stuck off the surface of the moon by a collision with an asteroid or comet. The piece later fell on the Earth and landed in Sahara and was first found by an anonymous person. The rock had to travel at least 239,000 miles through space before falling to Earth in a fiery meteor shower.

Christie’s head of Science & Natural History, James Hyslop, said, “Weighing over 13.5kg, it is so much larger than anything else that has ever been offered before. The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget.”

Also, this isn’t the first time that a meteorite has been discovered in the Sahara. Earlier, there have been many similar discoveries of meteorites and rocks.