The sky is falling . . . and it's worth millions.
The ancient Greeks held meteorites as objects of veneration. The
ancient Romans enshrined them in temples. And the council of 15th
century Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian determined the fall of a
meteorite was a good omen. Now present-day earth dwellers see them
as the hottest thing since the Beanie Baby.
Once solely collected by scientists for study, meteorite
fragments have recently experienced a surge in popularity among the
collector species. Since the landing of the Mars Rover in 1997,
consumer interest has placed Martian meteorites high on the wish
lists of even the most amateur rock collectors, resulting in
extraordinary price inflation. "The impetus behind collecting
such interesting samples is that they're rare and often
beautiful," says Stanford University geologist Jane Oglesby.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be able to hold something
extraterrestrial in your hand." With prices ranging from $20
all the way up to $5 million for slices of the space debris,
it's becoming obvious we have a cosmic craze on our hands.
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