15 Oct 2012

Meteorites on display before auction

2:48 pm on 15 October 2012

Several lumps of rock from Mars and the biggest piece of the Moon ever offered for sale are on display prior to an auction in New York.

More than 125 meteorites are being auctioned, including an iron meteorite resembling a howling face that was found in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa.

Another is a slice of the Willamette meteorite from the American Museum of Natural History, estimated to sell for at least $US85,000.

Also for sale is a 1.8kg moon rock which is expected to go for more than $US340,000.