Meteorite Monday

The meteorite auction in New York last week was by all accounts a bit of a dud. Particularly for...

... two meteorites which, though exceptional in size, failed to fetch sky-high prices at auction on Sunday. Bidding for both rocks stalled at around one-third of their valuations, and they were withdrawn from sale at Bonhams auction house in New York.

What’s wrong with these people! Don’t they know that these specimens of pure star stuff are cheap as chips at half the price?

A boffin takes a guess at what may have caused such a spectacular lack of interest:

“So few big meteorites go up for sale that no one really knows what to expect,” says Derek Sears at the University of Arkansas. He feels that an increase in finds from Antarctica and from deserts may have pushed prices down, but apathy may also play 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.”

People are more blasé about space today, he says.

True, we’re so jaded in the 21st Century; instead of reaching for the stars, we reach for the remote and tune into the faux stars... yes, such as the likes of Paris Hilton.

Entropy never sleeps.

And yes, at time of writing, no living thing today has been documented as being killed by a meteorite. Or even in the last week, perversely enough.

But watch this space, today could be the day. If the rock has my name on it, readers will understand if I don’t post an update.