Niger’s anger that a piece of Mars ended for auction

“Brazen! Take care!” Prof Paul Sereno declares the phone line from Chicago.

He had no effort to hide his anger that a rare meteorite from Mars discovered two years ago at Neger’s Neger in New York in an unemployed merchandise.

The palaeontologist, with a close connection to the country, believes it should be returned to Niger.

These millions – in the old old pieces of the red planet, the world’s greatest found, Took $ 4.3m (£ 3.2m) in Sotheby’s. Like buyer, the seller is kept unknown.

But it is unclear when any money has been to Niger.

The pieces of extraterorestrial material that leads to land long-standing respect among people – some graduate as religious things, others as curiosities for showing. More recently, many have become the subject of scientific study.

Meteorites trading is compared to the art market, with aesthetics and rarity affecting the price.

Initially, there was a feeling that surrounded the public appearance of this extraordinary Martian found – no 400 to 50,000 meteorites discovered from our neighboring planet.

Photos taken by Sotheby’s at 24.7kg (54lb) rock – showing glow lights and red – compounded this feeling.

But then some people start asking about how it ended at the hammer at the auctioneer.

No. The Government of Niger Himself, that, In a statement“Expressed doubts about its export legality, raising concerns about possible international traffic”.

Sotheby’s strong dispute, saying the correct methods, but Niger has now launched the conditions of discovery and meteorite, which was given the Neteora 16788 (NWA in North-West Africa).

The public was a little bit of how it ended with a famous House of Auction in the US world.

STUDY Italian academic articles Published last year said it was found on 16 November 2023 in the Sahara desert in the Niger region, 90km (56 miles) in “a meteorite hunter, whose identity is not known”.

Meteorites may fall anywhere on the ground, but due to favorable climate for preservation and the lack of human trouble, the Sahara becomes a principal area for their discovery. People disturbed the bad scenery that surrounds many countries of hope to find someone to sell.

According to the Italian article, NWA 16788, “sold by the local community of an international dealer” and then transferred to a private Gallery in Benizo town.

The florence’s magazine is described the person “a significant owner of the Italian gallery”.

A group of scientists led by Giovanni Pratesi, professor of university mineralogy, experienced it to determine more about its structure and where it came from. The meteorite is immediately in the shortest year of last year in Italy, including the Italian space agency in Rome.

Next it was seen in New York publicly last month, minus two slices remained in Italy for further research.

Sotheby says NWA 16788 “exported from Niger and carried in line with all related international procedures.

“As with all we sell, all relevant documentation is every time in its journey, in accordance with the best habits and needs of countries involved.”

A spokesman adds that Sotheby learns reports that Niger checks Meteorite export and “We check the information available to the question-powered question”.

Prof Sereno, built the Niger Heritage organization was a decade ago, the Nigerien law was convinced.

The Academic with the University of Chicago, who has spent years uncovering the country’s vast deposits of Dinosaur Bones in the Sahara, Campaigns to get Niger’s Cultural and Natural Heritage – including anything that has fallen from outer space – returned.

A stunning museum on an island of the Nigerian river running in the capital, Niamey, planned to be charged with artefacts.

“International Law Says You Cannot Simply Take Something That Is Important To The Heritage Of A Country – Be It A Cultural Items, A Physical Items, A Natural Items, an Extraterrestrial Item – Out of the Country. You know we have been moved,” Prof Sereno says.

A series of world agreements, including under Unesco UNESCO culture organization, tried to regulate trade with these items. But, According to a 2019 study Through International Law Expert Experts Max Gounelle, when it comes to meteorites, as they can be included, someone has remained in harmony as these agreements are covered. Remaining in individual states to clarify the position.

The Niger passed its own law in 1997 addressed to protect its heritage.

Prof Sereno points out a section with detailed list of all categories included. “Mineralalogical specimens are mentioned in artwork, architecture and archaeological found but meteorites are not specifically named.

In its statement at Sotheby’s sale, Niger claims it “no specific law of meteorites” – a line that is also meant at the Auction House. But it remains unclear how a person gets such a heavy, complex artefact abroad without the authorities apparently noticed.

Morocco faced a similar issue with many meteorites – over 1,000 – found within its boundaries, which included a part of the Sahara.

More than two decades the country have been experienced what the author Henen Gordon describes as a “Saharan Gold Rushulations and a stronger political environment than some of its neighbors.

In his new book Meteorites, he wrote that Morocco is a “one of the greatest expersed stones of space”.

Prof Hasnana Chennaoui Aoudejehanne spent most of 25 years trying to maintain some extraterrestrial materials for his country.

“It is a part of us, it is part of our legacy … about our identity and it is important to boast the abundance of the country,” Geologist told BBC.

The professor is not against the trade of meteorites but helps identify measures intended to regulate business. He claims even if new rules haven’t been successful in destroying the flow of meteorites.

In 2011, Prof Chennaoui was responsible for gathering the desert material from an observed meteorite fall from Mars.

The tissin meteorite later named the 7kg of all, but now he says 30g remain in Morocco. Some of the others left in the museums around the world, with the largest piece shown in the natural museum of London.

Meditation on the fate of the Niger’s meteorite meteorite, he says he is not surprised that it is “something I live in 25 years, but we cannot be happy with all nations.”

Prof Sereno hopes Sotheby’s sale to a turning point – first by encouraging Nigerien authorities in a public museum in a public public museum that the niger is openly dealing with it “.