Photo: Christie's
This is one doghouse no one will ever get sent to: a doghouse that was hit by a meteorite in a meteor shower in April 2019, and was subsequently damaged, is about to cross the auction block. Just be prepared to spend big on this piece of space-related curiosity.
Space, the final frontier. It’s also one that, for the time being, is only accessible to the richest and the physically fittest, which leaves all other space enthusiasts with other, more Earth-bound options. This could be one of them, or so auction house Christie’s hopes. As part of its Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites event that will take place on February 22, 2022, the auction house is offering a very unique doghouse – and the meteorite that made it so.
The doghouse used to belong to Roky, a German Shepherd that was actually inside it when the meteor shower hit Agua Zarcas in Costa Rica. He was unharmed by the falling piece of space rock, but it still caused considerable damage to the already-frail structure: a large hole in the roof and a sunken floor that required replacing bear testimony of the rock’s passing.
Because it’s not that often that objects are damaged by meteorites, they’ve become a separate class of space-related curiosity collectibles on their own. This one, for example, is estimated to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000 when the auction ends, more than the most recent price paid for the Chevy Malibu struck by a meteor in 2007 – arguably the most famous object of the kind.
Despite the high price, the rock itself is not included in the bargain – neither is Roky, if you were hoping for extra (canine) company. For the CM2 meteorite, collectors will have to prepare between $40,000 and $60,000 extra, but they will get an “impeccable” rock that shows the signs of its passage through space, the earth’s atmosphere and, ultimately, Roky’s oxidized tin roof.
As per the listing, the rock is covered with fusion crust from its “fiery plunge” through the atmosphere, regmaglypts, which are thumbprint-shaped indentations, and calcium aluminum inclusions (CAIs), the oldest matter humans can touch. Agua Zarcas meteorites are, as of this moment, the most searched after meteorites and finding one that has not been damaged by the rainfall that followed the meteor shower is rare.
The doghouse used to belong to Roky, a German Shepherd that was actually inside it when the meteor shower hit Agua Zarcas in Costa Rica. He was unharmed by the falling piece of space rock, but it still caused considerable damage to the already-frail structure: a large hole in the roof and a sunken floor that required replacing bear testimony of the rock’s passing.
Because it’s not that often that objects are damaged by meteorites, they’ve become a separate class of space-related curiosity collectibles on their own. This one, for example, is estimated to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000 when the auction ends, more than the most recent price paid for the Chevy Malibu struck by a meteor in 2007 – arguably the most famous object of the kind.
Despite the high price, the rock itself is not included in the bargain – neither is Roky, if you were hoping for extra (canine) company. For the CM2 meteorite, collectors will have to prepare between $40,000 and $60,000 extra, but they will get an “impeccable” rock that shows the signs of its passage through space, the earth’s atmosphere and, ultimately, Roky’s oxidized tin roof.
As per the listing, the rock is covered with fusion crust from its “fiery plunge” through the atmosphere, regmaglypts, which are thumbprint-shaped indentations, and calcium aluminum inclusions (CAIs), the oldest matter humans can touch. Agua Zarcas meteorites are, as of this moment, the most searched after meteorites and finding one that has not been damaged by the rainfall that followed the meteor shower is rare.
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