A dog kennel pierced by a meteorite will go on sale among an array of space debris at a Christie's auction.
The London-based auction house is holding its annual auction of extraterrestrial material on Wednesday. The combined value of lots is more than £2m.
A 9kg piece of Mars – the third largest on earth – could account for a large part of the total takings as it expected to fetch as much as £590,000.
Part of a meteorite that caused excitement among scientists when it fell on Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, is also on sale.
The Winchcombe meteorite was found to contain material that was present at the forming of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
Known as carbonaceous chondrite, it is a mixture of minerals and organic compounds thought to hold secrets of the origin of life as we know it.
At 15 grams, the Winchcombe fragment would be among the largest pieces of the meteorite in private hands. It is expected to fetch up to £6,000.
The kennel, once home to a German shepherd called Roky, is expected to fetch as much as £220,000.
The roof of Roky's tin hut in rural Costa Rica was pierced by a meteorite in April 2019. The dog was startled but unharmed.
The wooden floor of the hut has been restored as it was completely destroyed by the meteorite. A seven-inch hole in the roof where it struck remains.
The meteorite will be on sale separately.
Roky’s kennel is the latest in a line of objects hit by meteorites to go to auction.
An American mailbox struck in 1984 went for $83,000 (£60,000) in 2007. A Chevrolet Malibu car that was hit in 1992 in New Jersey was auctioned and later toured as an exhibition.
Christie's began hosting an annual meteorite sale in 2014, pulling in lots from around the world.
James Hyslop, head of the science and natural history department at Christie’s said: “Ever since an exhibition in Paris featured a car famously struck by a meteorite, I’ve wanted to bring an object hit by an extraterrestrial object to auction.
“There are not many, and I’m thrilled to be able to now offer Roky’s celebrated meteorite-impacted doghouse and its accompanying impactor.”
Also among the 66 lots in Wednesday’s auction are a large moon rock and the largest known piece of Libyan desert glass, which was formed by a meteorite impact in the Sahara desert 29 million years ago.
