http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9503391%255E1702,00.html
Rare space junk for sale news.com.au (Australia) May 8, 2004 FOR a cool $100,000 a rare piece of space real estate could be yours. A meteorite that was discovered in a rural field in northern NSW 25 years ago has been released for sale. And while numerous science boffins and academics will no doubt be clamouring to own the valuable space junk, only those with cash, and considerable amounts of it, will get a look-in. Not only is the meteorite large in size (it weighs 11.04kg) but its chemical composition has been confirmed as a "coarse octahedrite" belonging to a group of iron meteorites `Group IIIF', among the rarest meteorites known. Throughout the world only six other Group IIIF meteorites are officially registered, one of which is the Moonbi meteorite held in the Australian Museum. "It's a bit like selling artworks. Meteorites are great collectables and can be very valuable for scientific or historic reasons," said Lex Simshauser of Lex E Simshauser Consulting in Brisbane, who are marketing the sale. "On the open market, a meteorite of this size and rarity can fetch tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. "It will be really interesting to see who buys it because while a lot of universities and museums will want it, they are often strapped for cash." The meteorite, which is currently held in trust by the Federal Government, will go on public viewing next month in Brisbane at a site yet to be determined. Expressions of interest to buy the meteorite close on June 16. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
