The fascination with the vast expanse of space and celestial objects never goes away and if you grew up on a healthy dose of Bollywood, then you know much stars and moon are romanticized. If you also want to gift your partner chand sitaare, phool aur shabnam this Valentine’s day, and you happen to have a lot of money saved up for it, then you just might do that as well.
Christie’s Auction House is holding an online sale from February 9 to auction off 72 celestial items like meteorites and rocks from moon, Mars, and the vast endlessness of space.
Shah Rukh Khan just sang Chaand tare tod laaun(I will pick the stars and moon),but dedicated space enthusiasts can actually do that now, kind of.
The chunks of cosmos are debris from space that entered Earth as shooting stars. While most meteorites completely combust when they enter our atmosphere, some survive, and hence become priceless artefacts. But the Christie’s Auction House believes even priceless items can have a price, with their range starting from $250 (INR 18,202), less than the price of a diamond ring.
According to the curator, Darryl Pitt, “If there was ever a time to be awed by the infiniteness of the night sky, we're living in it, but if you want to inspire and see eyes widen — touch a meteorite.” Interested buyers based around New York can see some of these pieces in person, by appointment, but the sale will be remote and online.
The display includes a 7 billion-year-old meteorite, many space gems encased in iron, the fourth largest slice on moon, as well as many minor stardust collectibles.The crown-jewel of the display is 16-pound “highly aesthetic oriented stone meteorite” which is estimated to sell for $50,000 to $80,000 (INR 36,42,475 to 58,27,960). According to Christie’s, “Unlike 99% of all other meteorites, this meteorite did not tumble or invert as it plunged to Earth, but maintained a stable orientation throughout its descent.”
One large martian rock is estimated to be $30,000 to $50,000 (INR 21,85,485 to 36,42,475) and is said to contain a bubble with Martian atmosphere preserved inside. One very rare for-sale item is something that has never touched the ground. It is a meteorite found in Morocco, which fell onto a tree, and a young boy found it there. It will fetch around $15,000 to $25,000 (INR 10,92,742 to 18,21,237). Also in the collection is one from the largest meteor shower in USA, Odessa, Texas. It is ranged $40,000 to $60,000 (INR 29,13,980 to 43,70,970).