NWA 12691 — PARTIAL SLICE OF THE MOON - photo 1

NWA 12691 — PARTIAL SLICE OF THE MOON

Lot 26
23.02.2021 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 37 500
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 491236
Lot 26 | NWA 12691 — PARTIAL SLICE OF THE MOON
Estimate value
$ 12 500 – 17 500
Rocks from the Moon are among the rarest substances on Earth, and now offered is a partial slice of one such rock that was blasted off the lunar surface following an asteroid impact. There are less than 750 kg of lunar meteorites known to exist and a significant fraction is controlled by governmental institutions. While Apollo astronauts returned with 382 kilograms of Moon rocks, not one milligram of this material is available for private ownership. Moon rocks are identified by specific textural, mineralogical, chemical and isotopic signatures. Many of the common minerals found on Earth’s surface are rare on the Moon and some lunar minerals are unknown on Earth. In addition, Moon rocks contain gases captured from the solar wind with isotope ratios very different from the same gases found on Earth. NWA 12691 is the 12,691st rock recovered in the Northwest African grid of the Sahara Desert to be analyzed and classified. The stone from which this slice is derived is a breccia composed mainly of very fine-grained minerals and a few much larger grains of anorthite (a calcium-aluminum silicate mineral present in most Moon rocks).

The official classification and publication of this meteorite was performed by Dr. Anthony Irving, the world’s most prolific classifier of lunar and Martian meteorites. His abstract, which became part of scientific literature upon vetting and subsequent publication in the Meteoritical Bulletin, accompanies this offering.

As one would expect, many of the Moon rocks returned by Apollo missions are nearly identical to lunar meteorites — and such is the case here. This partial brecciated slice of the Moon is composed of different fragments of rocks and minerals, including signature anorthite, cemented together by lunar regolith and other crushed rock. There are two cut and two natural edges to this slice. The cut faces reveal a galaxy of fragmentary inclusions, the result of the ongoing bombardment of the Moon’s surface by asteroid impacts prior to the collision responsible for launching this rock to Earth. Modern cutting.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.

The analysis of this meteorite was led by Dr. Anthony Irving, whose findings underwent peer review by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society. The analysis and classification was published in the 108th edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin — the official registry of meteorites.

115 x 94 x 5mm (4.5 x 3.75 x 0.2 in.) and 123.46g (0.25 lbs)
Category:Meteorite
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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09.02.2021 – 23.02.2021
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