LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 January Signature Natural History #5000  / 

48336

THE SPACE DOME - AN ORIENTED METEORITE

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,250.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 3,800.00 USD
THE SPACE DOME - AN ORIENTED METEORITE
<B>THE SPACE DOME - AN ORIENTED METEORITE</B></I><BR> <I>NWA (North West Africa), Chondrite<BR>Sahara Desert</B></I><BR>Some 86% of all meteorites discovered on earth have been chondrites, and the Sahara Desert in North West Africa is an abundant source of these missiles from outer space. Nothing remarkable about specimens of this type from this area, one might think, and yet amongst the rarest of meteorites are those in which the mass is orientated in such a way that the specimen falls to earth on a perfectly balanced, comet-like trajectory, not spinning but hurtling headlong with one area of the surface consistently bearing the brunt of the atmospheric pressure that shapes and moulds the meteorite as it travels at unimaginable speeds towards our planet. The example offered here is just such a specimen; simply looking at the smooth, perfectly rounded dome one can imagine its bullet-like path through the skies, the superheated surface curving away from the point of contact with the atmosphere to produce the uncannily curved shape that raises to the level of sought-after rarity what would otherwise be an undistinguished, albeit extraterrestrial, stone. It measures approximately 8 x 6 inches, and weighs 16.08 pounds.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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