University of Arkansas

Space rocks fail to fetch big bucks at auction

Two meteorites failed to fetch expected amounts of money at an auction at Bonhams auction house in New York on Sunday.

London, November 5 : Two meteorites failed to fetch expected amounts of money at an auction at Bonhams auction house in New York on Sunday.

Although both rocks-the Brenham meteorite and the Willamette meteorite-are exceptional in size, bidding for them stalled at around one-third of their valuations.

The two rocks were eventually withdrawn from sale.

"So few big meteorites go up for sale that no one really knows what to expect," New Scientist magazine quoted Derek Sears at the University of Arkansas as saying.

He said that one of the reasons for the low bidding might be an increase in finds from Antarctica and deserts.

Sears, however, agreed that apathy might also have played a part.

"Some meteorites were last on the market in the post-war years, when public interest in space was at an all-time high," he said.

He added that people's interest in space rocks had declined of late.

The Brenham meteorite, which was found in Kansas in 2005 and is the largest of its kind, was expected to attract bids of 700,000 dollars.

The Willamette Meteorite was found in Oregon in 1902 was valued at 1.3 million dollars.

ANI